Lake Seiros - Afternoon - Clear
Mercer von Riegan
Mercer wasn't exactly sure how he'd managed to convince everyone to use their spare time going on a picnic together. Sure, they were all friends at this point, but all of them were coming. Devon, Sofia, and the others. All of different Houses, of different backgrounds and classes. And they were all friends. Mercer wondered, briefly, if this was how it could be. How his country could be if everyone saw the potential, and not just a person's Crest, or heritage. It would take a long time to achieve that, but if this could be the end result, well... it would be a battle worth fighting.
His lips pursed briefly together as he recalled Alaric's last letter. Something seemed off about Gloucester, but not in a way that called for immediate attention. Mercer put it down as Matteo being sore, still, about Sorcha and his land being taken by Acheron. Some people never let grudges like that go, however; he wasn't going to dwell on it for too long. He was here to enjoy his friends's company; he'd inform them of the letter after the festivities. They'd be enjoying themselves, hopefully, after all.
“Alright. We have food, drinks, and... I don't think we need anything else," he stated, grinning at the group in front of him. “Let's all celebrate a year without killing each other!" he stated, causing Thea to giggle lightly, and Deirdre to roll her eyes.
“Not for a lack of trying, at least," Deirdre muttered, causing Sylvi to snort softly.
“Now now," Reynard tutted, pulling his scarf a little closer around him. It was still Pegasus Moon, even if the afternoon was a little bit unseasonably warm. “If I'd been trying to kill any of you, someone would be dead at least."
Vi chuckled, leaning forward to place his chin on Thea's head and enfold her in his cloak. She was sitting back against his chest, so it wasn't hard to do. Thea had acquired a rather interesting new piece of jewelry recently, and was wearing it on a very meaningful finger, but as of yet neither of them had said anything about it.
“Good to know my friends usually don't want to assassinate me, I suppose. What would I need enemies for otherwise?" Thoughtlessly, he ran his fingers through her hair.
Devon appeared next, carrying some wood for the fire they'd already started for warmth, and plunked himself down on one edge of the nearest blanket. “I'd prefer not to have enemies at all, to be completely honest."
“With a face like yours, Devon, I doubt anyone would want to make an enemy of you. They'd probably want to collect you and have you all to themselves, right Sylvi?"" Senka spoke, arching a brow in Sylvi's direction. The younger woman snorted softly, but grinned nonetheless.
“I'd certainly want him all to myself, but I suppose I could share if that's what he wanted," she replied easily enough, earning a light snicker from Deirdre. Mercer snickered as well, glancing towards the boy in question.
Devon looked about ready to combust, but he held his own better now that he'd used to, at least, if only just. “I don't—no. I mean, I can understand that that's something some people want, and it's not bad if it works for them, but—no. Not me. Thank you." He cleared his throat awkwardly.
Sorcha gave him a sympathetic smile; Teach snorted softly.
He really was easy to rile up, however; teasing couldn't only just fall on him after all. Mercer turned his eyes towards Vridel and Thea. Even if neither of them said anything about it, yet, he was going to make them, now.
“Speaking of keeping someone all to themselves, it looks like you and Thea are going to be exclusive for a long while, Vi. Are we invited to the ceremony?" he asked, causing almost all eyes to be cast towards Vi and Thea.
“Till death do us part," Vi replied drolly, giving Mercer a look that clearly indicated he had his lifespan in mind when he said it. To anyone who didn't know, though, it would simply sound like a reference to the nature of the arrangement. “As to whether you're invited, I don't know. I think I shall leave that up to my lovely fiancée. What do you think, Thea? Is Lord Fishface invited?"
Thea looked like she was giving it serious thought. Enough that Mercer felt a little spike of panic. Was she mad at him for some reason? He couldn't recall ever giving her a reason other than the ocassional teasing gesture he'd made with her about Vi. Did she hold grudges like that? She smiled, though, and nodded her head.
“I suppose it'll be fine to invite Mercer," she stated, grinning at Mercer. He narrowed his eyes slightly at her, but grinned.
“And here I thought I'd wronged you somehow," he replied, earning a light giggle from Thea.
“I suppose congratulations are in order, then, for the future von Hresvelgs," Senka stated, her eyes softening towards Vi and Thea. Mercer nodded, grabbing a cup from nearby and filling it with the bottled water they'd brought with them. The harder stuff would be for later, but for now, they could all make a toast with water.
“Indeed. To Thea and Vi!" Mercer stated as Sylvi and Deirdre followed suit. He could see a light pink dusting Thea's cheeks, and his grin widened slightly. “And the future of House von Hresvelg!" He knew they would get the implication of that.
Sorcha punched him in the shoulder for his cheek, giving him a mock-glare over the time of her cup as she took a drink. “You mind your manners," she chided. “Thea could always dis-invite you and I don't want to go alone."
“I'd be your date," Reynard offered slyly, raising an eyebrow at Mercer.
Sorcha grinned at him. “Oh well in that case feel free to get yourself disinvited, fishboy. I have another date lined up." She tipped her glass in Rey's direction, and he returned it with a cheeky wink.
Mercer knew that for a fact, that Rey wouldn't consider Sorcha as his date. She wasn't his type, so to speak, but that didn't stop the frown on his face from forming. He glanced in Senka's direction who gave him a flat look.
“Don't look at me. I would not entertain the idea of being your date," she replied flatly. Mercer supposed she had a point, but he rolled his eyes nonetheless before an idea struck him. He leaned closer to Sorcha so that he could whisper into her ear.
“Don't worry, we'll have to worry about House von Riegan, too," he stated before pulling back. “And I know Thea wouldn't dis-invite me just because of a little teasing," he spoke loud enough so that everyone could hear that.
Sorcha harrumphed at him, sniffing and turning her nose up in a show of disinterest, but the gradual pinkening of her features was a much truer indication of her feelings, as it so often was. “Presumptuous," she accused, glowering at him just a bit.
“No, Sorcha's right. I would, but you're lucky I want to invite all my friends, and that, unfortunately, includes you." Thea spoke with a smile on her face, and Mercer couldn't help but chuckle at her.
“Vi, you've corrupted our dear little Thea. For shame."
“It's not like I mind, though."
Vi, for his part, grinned wickedly at Mercer over Thea's head. The implication in the expression was a pretty clear one: it would seem the so-called corruption involved had reached a certain point, and he was pretty pleased with this fact. “I don't know," he said with deceptive lightness. “Are you sure she's not the one corrupting me? She's rather forward these days, you know. And so mean to anyone she thinks is after me. It's really quite possessive of her." Of course, the way he hugged her a little more tightly under the cloak gave away the fact that that aspect of things, exaggerated as he'd made it for humor, was decidedly mutual.
The blush that spread across Thea's face meant that she knew what Vi was implicating, and it didn't stop the bout of laughter that left Mercer. Thea, however, pursed her lips, and stared at anything that wasn't a person.
“It's not like you mind, either, Vi," she murmured, though everyone could still hear it. “And if I remember correctly, you like me that way, so," she stated, turning her head slightly so she could stick her tongue out at Vi, even if his head was still lodged on hers. Mercer snickered softly as he tried to contain his laughter.
“I do like you that way," he admitted freely, shifting just enough to lay a kiss on her temple, clearly not ashamed to be doing it. Knowing Vi, it would take a lot more than that before he felt the faintest shred of embarrassment, even in front of people.
“You know, I never thought Thea as the type to be like that, to be honest," he finally spoke, arching a brow in their direction. “I mean, it's possible that this entire time she was corrupting you, and not the other way around."
“You hush, Lord Fishface. You're just jealous," she stated, pursing her lips in Mercer's direction.
“Not at all, Thea. Not at all."
“Can we talk about something else? I might get sick from all the sweetness otherwise," Reynard drawled, rolling his eyes good-naturedly.
“You've all got your last certs next month," Teach said, crossing his arms with mock-seriousness. “Have you been practicing?"
Sofi groaned, though only playfully. “Maybe not that, though," she remarked.
“Yeah, anything but that," Deirdre stated, though it was obvious that she was not playing about it. “We haven't had time to study for them, and I've fallen behind on a lot of my tomes and spells," she murmured softly.
“If you needed help with your dark magic, I could help you with that, too, Deirdre," Senka offered. She was, perhaps, one of the better dark magic users the group had, next to Teach. Deirdre was good, but not as good as those two. Deirdre seemed to muse it over, though, before nodding her head.
“I suppose it wouldn't hurt. I am trying to be a warlock, after all," she stated before shrugging her shoulders. Her eyes turned towards Mercer, though, and she arched a brow. “I heard my cousin sent you a letter, Merc. What does the idiot want now?" she stated, causing Mercer to purse his lips. He supposed he had to tell them sooner or later. He chanced a glance in Sorcha's direction, before he sighed softly.
“Gloucester has been acting strange, lately. Stranger than normal, at least," he stated, running a hand through his hair. “According to Alaric, he's more serious than he used to be, and hasn't been seen with a woman in nearly three weeks. And you all know that is strange already," Matteo was usually seen with a woman sometimes as often as three times a day.
“I just attributed it to him losing his lands to Acheron, and him losing Sorcha, however," he paused to purse his lips, “it seems a little more than just that. It's almost as if he was a completely different person."
“You think he's up to something?" Vi asked curiously, picking up a petit four from the picnic spread and offering it to Thea before taking one for himself as well. “Don't suppose he'll be pleasant enough to wait until graduation to initiate his scheme?"
Sorcha frowned like she'd eaten something sour. “I wouldn't be surprised if he tried something while you were still away; he has to know he can't win when you're there."
“I wouldn't be surprised, either. I've asked Alaric to keep an eye on Matteo and my gramps, just in case. It'll be stretching him thin, but he's the only one I trust. The only one I can. Judith is plenty capable on her own, but..." he would admit that he was a little concerned for his mother. She was a warrior in her own right, and she wasn't called a Hero for nothing, after all. He took a deep breath and slumped his shoulders.
“The only thing I can do is have Alaric keep an eye on him, and just plan to be ten steps ahead of him. He knows he can't win either way, but he's going to try."
“Gloucester's always been a bit of an idiot, though. I mean, look what he did simply because his pride was hurt. He lost almost three acres, or miles of land because he couldn't handle the fact that Mercer anulled his arrangement to Sorcha. This... he's probably trying for one last attempt to become the Leader of the Alliance, in some way or form," Deirdre stated, pursing her lips together.
“Alaric can handle himself, but it sucks that I can't be there to help him, either."
“Yeah, well... graduation's only several weeks away. He'll be fine until then," at least Mercer hoped that would be the case.
Vi huffed softly. “He'd best wait. Otherwise there'll be another field trip in it, and then you'll have some serious reinforcements, no? He's got to understand that, too." There was something to it—the group was formidable, and even if the Archbishop didn't intend it, the very fact that they were currently students at the Officer's Academy would lend them a certain kind of Church-adjacent authority, too.
It was in that sense far wiser for Gloucester to wait the few weeks.
Sorcha grimaced. “Well you'll have reinforcements either way if you happen to need us," she pointed out. “I don't expect my uncle will want to handle the responsibility of actually doing things a moment longer than he has to, and I'm sure Vivi's got a crown waiting too, right?" When Vi nodded, she did too. “So there. And then when Sen's got Duscur back we'll all be your allies, so he'd better watch his step."
Mercer couldn't help the grin that covered his face. “Of course. I'll have two queens, and an emperor as my allies. What more could I want?" he replied, taking a drink of his water before setting it down.
“Oh, and I can't forget about Teach, Sylvi and future Lord Margrave-Galatea, Sofia, Deirdre, and Rey, too." Sylvi snickered at Mercer's comment, though there was a faint blush dusting her cheeks. Had she thought about it, too? That was interesting to Mercer. He'd save that for later, though.
“I'm almost certain I'm missing someone, though."
“Pff, Emperor. Who needs one of those when you could have an Empress, instead?" Vi paused for a moment, as though considering this, and then shook his head. “Actually, never mind. You'll have to make do with me, because I refuse to share." He smiled, catlike, and tucked his chin back atop Thea's head. “Too bad for you."
“Hey, I wouldn't mind an Empress, too. I mean, I've got two queens already. Why not throw an Empress in there, too?" he added, grinning just slightly before something was thrown at him. It hit him in the head, but it was much too soft to be anything other than a muffin, from the looks of it. It had landed, thankfully, in his hands, and he glanced up to see who'd thrown it.
“Mercer von Riegan, you hush, stupid fishface," Thea stated, seemingly the culprit behind the muffin. Senka huffed a light laugh as Mercer continued grinning.
“She has a point. You do realize how that sounds, right? You make it sound like you want us to be part of your harem," Senka stated, arching a brow in Mercer's direction. “I, for one, refuse, and Vi already said he's not sharing, so..." she trailed off with a light shrug of her shoulders.
“It's probably a good thing. Sorcha would kill me if I even so much as thought about it," Mercer replied, as he grinned in Sorcha's direction.
“I'd never do something so irresponsible as to assassinate an important leader in Fódlan," Sorcha said primly. “But I would run off with Rey, since he's so kindly offered, so do consider carefully before you make any decisions, Mercer." She sniffed, narrowing her eyes faintly at him before promptly turning away with a hmph sound.
Reynard nodded sagely. “Always happy to aid in the escape of unhappy ladies. Or gentlemen. Or anyone, really."
Mercer chuckled softly, leaning close towards Sorcha so he could rest his head on her shoulder. “Now why would I do that? Make you run into the arms of another man? You're already breaking your promise. For shame, Sor. For shame." He leaned a little closer, though, and whispered in her ear, “and I thought I was the only one you were allowed to think of, hm?" He placed a chaste kiss on the inside of her neck before pulling away.
“Y-you started it," she huffed back at him, just as quietly but considerably more flustered. Physical contact tended to do that to her, but only from him.
“Ugh, I don't know why she'd choose you, anyway, Mercer. It's clear Reynard is the superior choice, but... well, I guess everyone has their own strange tastes in people," Deirdre chimed in, making a face in Mercer's direction. He only grinned at her.
“Oh, he's not so bad," Sofi said, grinning a little at the exchange. “If you ignore his entire personality he's at least nice enough to look at, for a man."
“Why thank you, Sofi. At least someone thinks I'm pretty," Mercer stated, flashing a grin in Sofia's direction.
“Someone has to," Senka murmured behind the rim of her cup. “Though I do agree with Deir. Sor could do better, but I suppose you are both stuck with each other," she continued, a grin forming on her lips. Mercer outright pouted.
“One of these days you'll say something nice about me, Sen. And it will have nothing to do with Teach encouraging it, right?" Mercer stated, allowing his eyes to slide towards Teach.
“It would have to," the man replied with a faint smirk, taking a drink from the glass in his hand. “As I don't make a habit of doing so."
Several of the others laughed; Sorcha raised an eyebrow in a manner that suggested she quite thought Mercer was getting what he deserved, but she did apparently decide to be more merciful than any of the others, at least.
“Anyway," she said, rolling her eyes a little. “Someone packed cards. Should we play?"
“Yes! Let's play!" Thea stated as she moved, however; she seemed to remember she was in Vridel's lap and decided against it.
Mercer shook his head faintly. He really did have great friends.
His lips pursed briefly together as he recalled Alaric's last letter. Something seemed off about Gloucester, but not in a way that called for immediate attention. Mercer put it down as Matteo being sore, still, about Sorcha and his land being taken by Acheron. Some people never let grudges like that go, however; he wasn't going to dwell on it for too long. He was here to enjoy his friends's company; he'd inform them of the letter after the festivities. They'd be enjoying themselves, hopefully, after all.
“Alright. We have food, drinks, and... I don't think we need anything else," he stated, grinning at the group in front of him. “Let's all celebrate a year without killing each other!" he stated, causing Thea to giggle lightly, and Deirdre to roll her eyes.
“Not for a lack of trying, at least," Deirdre muttered, causing Sylvi to snort softly.
“Now now," Reynard tutted, pulling his scarf a little closer around him. It was still Pegasus Moon, even if the afternoon was a little bit unseasonably warm. “If I'd been trying to kill any of you, someone would be dead at least."
Vi chuckled, leaning forward to place his chin on Thea's head and enfold her in his cloak. She was sitting back against his chest, so it wasn't hard to do. Thea had acquired a rather interesting new piece of jewelry recently, and was wearing it on a very meaningful finger, but as of yet neither of them had said anything about it.
“Good to know my friends usually don't want to assassinate me, I suppose. What would I need enemies for otherwise?" Thoughtlessly, he ran his fingers through her hair.
Devon appeared next, carrying some wood for the fire they'd already started for warmth, and plunked himself down on one edge of the nearest blanket. “I'd prefer not to have enemies at all, to be completely honest."
“With a face like yours, Devon, I doubt anyone would want to make an enemy of you. They'd probably want to collect you and have you all to themselves, right Sylvi?"" Senka spoke, arching a brow in Sylvi's direction. The younger woman snorted softly, but grinned nonetheless.
“I'd certainly want him all to myself, but I suppose I could share if that's what he wanted," she replied easily enough, earning a light snicker from Deirdre. Mercer snickered as well, glancing towards the boy in question.
Devon looked about ready to combust, but he held his own better now that he'd used to, at least, if only just. “I don't—no. I mean, I can understand that that's something some people want, and it's not bad if it works for them, but—no. Not me. Thank you." He cleared his throat awkwardly.
Sorcha gave him a sympathetic smile; Teach snorted softly.
He really was easy to rile up, however; teasing couldn't only just fall on him after all. Mercer turned his eyes towards Vridel and Thea. Even if neither of them said anything about it, yet, he was going to make them, now.
“Speaking of keeping someone all to themselves, it looks like you and Thea are going to be exclusive for a long while, Vi. Are we invited to the ceremony?" he asked, causing almost all eyes to be cast towards Vi and Thea.
“Till death do us part," Vi replied drolly, giving Mercer a look that clearly indicated he had his lifespan in mind when he said it. To anyone who didn't know, though, it would simply sound like a reference to the nature of the arrangement. “As to whether you're invited, I don't know. I think I shall leave that up to my lovely fiancée. What do you think, Thea? Is Lord Fishface invited?"
Thea looked like she was giving it serious thought. Enough that Mercer felt a little spike of panic. Was she mad at him for some reason? He couldn't recall ever giving her a reason other than the ocassional teasing gesture he'd made with her about Vi. Did she hold grudges like that? She smiled, though, and nodded her head.
“I suppose it'll be fine to invite Mercer," she stated, grinning at Mercer. He narrowed his eyes slightly at her, but grinned.
“And here I thought I'd wronged you somehow," he replied, earning a light giggle from Thea.
“I suppose congratulations are in order, then, for the future von Hresvelgs," Senka stated, her eyes softening towards Vi and Thea. Mercer nodded, grabbing a cup from nearby and filling it with the bottled water they'd brought with them. The harder stuff would be for later, but for now, they could all make a toast with water.
“Indeed. To Thea and Vi!" Mercer stated as Sylvi and Deirdre followed suit. He could see a light pink dusting Thea's cheeks, and his grin widened slightly. “And the future of House von Hresvelg!" He knew they would get the implication of that.
Sorcha punched him in the shoulder for his cheek, giving him a mock-glare over the time of her cup as she took a drink. “You mind your manners," she chided. “Thea could always dis-invite you and I don't want to go alone."
“I'd be your date," Reynard offered slyly, raising an eyebrow at Mercer.
Sorcha grinned at him. “Oh well in that case feel free to get yourself disinvited, fishboy. I have another date lined up." She tipped her glass in Rey's direction, and he returned it with a cheeky wink.
Mercer knew that for a fact, that Rey wouldn't consider Sorcha as his date. She wasn't his type, so to speak, but that didn't stop the frown on his face from forming. He glanced in Senka's direction who gave him a flat look.
“Don't look at me. I would not entertain the idea of being your date," she replied flatly. Mercer supposed she had a point, but he rolled his eyes nonetheless before an idea struck him. He leaned closer to Sorcha so that he could whisper into her ear.
“Don't worry, we'll have to worry about House von Riegan, too," he stated before pulling back. “And I know Thea wouldn't dis-invite me just because of a little teasing," he spoke loud enough so that everyone could hear that.
Sorcha harrumphed at him, sniffing and turning her nose up in a show of disinterest, but the gradual pinkening of her features was a much truer indication of her feelings, as it so often was. “Presumptuous," she accused, glowering at him just a bit.
“No, Sorcha's right. I would, but you're lucky I want to invite all my friends, and that, unfortunately, includes you." Thea spoke with a smile on her face, and Mercer couldn't help but chuckle at her.
“Vi, you've corrupted our dear little Thea. For shame."
“It's not like I mind, though."
Vi, for his part, grinned wickedly at Mercer over Thea's head. The implication in the expression was a pretty clear one: it would seem the so-called corruption involved had reached a certain point, and he was pretty pleased with this fact. “I don't know," he said with deceptive lightness. “Are you sure she's not the one corrupting me? She's rather forward these days, you know. And so mean to anyone she thinks is after me. It's really quite possessive of her." Of course, the way he hugged her a little more tightly under the cloak gave away the fact that that aspect of things, exaggerated as he'd made it for humor, was decidedly mutual.
The blush that spread across Thea's face meant that she knew what Vi was implicating, and it didn't stop the bout of laughter that left Mercer. Thea, however, pursed her lips, and stared at anything that wasn't a person.
“It's not like you mind, either, Vi," she murmured, though everyone could still hear it. “And if I remember correctly, you like me that way, so," she stated, turning her head slightly so she could stick her tongue out at Vi, even if his head was still lodged on hers. Mercer snickered softly as he tried to contain his laughter.
“I do like you that way," he admitted freely, shifting just enough to lay a kiss on her temple, clearly not ashamed to be doing it. Knowing Vi, it would take a lot more than that before he felt the faintest shred of embarrassment, even in front of people.
“You know, I never thought Thea as the type to be like that, to be honest," he finally spoke, arching a brow in their direction. “I mean, it's possible that this entire time she was corrupting you, and not the other way around."
“You hush, Lord Fishface. You're just jealous," she stated, pursing her lips in Mercer's direction.
“Not at all, Thea. Not at all."
“Can we talk about something else? I might get sick from all the sweetness otherwise," Reynard drawled, rolling his eyes good-naturedly.
“You've all got your last certs next month," Teach said, crossing his arms with mock-seriousness. “Have you been practicing?"
Sofi groaned, though only playfully. “Maybe not that, though," she remarked.
“Yeah, anything but that," Deirdre stated, though it was obvious that she was not playing about it. “We haven't had time to study for them, and I've fallen behind on a lot of my tomes and spells," she murmured softly.
“If you needed help with your dark magic, I could help you with that, too, Deirdre," Senka offered. She was, perhaps, one of the better dark magic users the group had, next to Teach. Deirdre was good, but not as good as those two. Deirdre seemed to muse it over, though, before nodding her head.
“I suppose it wouldn't hurt. I am trying to be a warlock, after all," she stated before shrugging her shoulders. Her eyes turned towards Mercer, though, and she arched a brow. “I heard my cousin sent you a letter, Merc. What does the idiot want now?" she stated, causing Mercer to purse his lips. He supposed he had to tell them sooner or later. He chanced a glance in Sorcha's direction, before he sighed softly.
“Gloucester has been acting strange, lately. Stranger than normal, at least," he stated, running a hand through his hair. “According to Alaric, he's more serious than he used to be, and hasn't been seen with a woman in nearly three weeks. And you all know that is strange already," Matteo was usually seen with a woman sometimes as often as three times a day.
“I just attributed it to him losing his lands to Acheron, and him losing Sorcha, however," he paused to purse his lips, “it seems a little more than just that. It's almost as if he was a completely different person."
“You think he's up to something?" Vi asked curiously, picking up a petit four from the picnic spread and offering it to Thea before taking one for himself as well. “Don't suppose he'll be pleasant enough to wait until graduation to initiate his scheme?"
Sorcha frowned like she'd eaten something sour. “I wouldn't be surprised if he tried something while you were still away; he has to know he can't win when you're there."
“I wouldn't be surprised, either. I've asked Alaric to keep an eye on Matteo and my gramps, just in case. It'll be stretching him thin, but he's the only one I trust. The only one I can. Judith is plenty capable on her own, but..." he would admit that he was a little concerned for his mother. She was a warrior in her own right, and she wasn't called a Hero for nothing, after all. He took a deep breath and slumped his shoulders.
“The only thing I can do is have Alaric keep an eye on him, and just plan to be ten steps ahead of him. He knows he can't win either way, but he's going to try."
“Gloucester's always been a bit of an idiot, though. I mean, look what he did simply because his pride was hurt. He lost almost three acres, or miles of land because he couldn't handle the fact that Mercer anulled his arrangement to Sorcha. This... he's probably trying for one last attempt to become the Leader of the Alliance, in some way or form," Deirdre stated, pursing her lips together.
“Alaric can handle himself, but it sucks that I can't be there to help him, either."
“Yeah, well... graduation's only several weeks away. He'll be fine until then," at least Mercer hoped that would be the case.
Vi huffed softly. “He'd best wait. Otherwise there'll be another field trip in it, and then you'll have some serious reinforcements, no? He's got to understand that, too." There was something to it—the group was formidable, and even if the Archbishop didn't intend it, the very fact that they were currently students at the Officer's Academy would lend them a certain kind of Church-adjacent authority, too.
It was in that sense far wiser for Gloucester to wait the few weeks.
Sorcha grimaced. “Well you'll have reinforcements either way if you happen to need us," she pointed out. “I don't expect my uncle will want to handle the responsibility of actually doing things a moment longer than he has to, and I'm sure Vivi's got a crown waiting too, right?" When Vi nodded, she did too. “So there. And then when Sen's got Duscur back we'll all be your allies, so he'd better watch his step."
Mercer couldn't help the grin that covered his face. “Of course. I'll have two queens, and an emperor as my allies. What more could I want?" he replied, taking a drink of his water before setting it down.
“Oh, and I can't forget about Teach, Sylvi and future Lord Margrave-Galatea, Sofia, Deirdre, and Rey, too." Sylvi snickered at Mercer's comment, though there was a faint blush dusting her cheeks. Had she thought about it, too? That was interesting to Mercer. He'd save that for later, though.
“I'm almost certain I'm missing someone, though."
“Pff, Emperor. Who needs one of those when you could have an Empress, instead?" Vi paused for a moment, as though considering this, and then shook his head. “Actually, never mind. You'll have to make do with me, because I refuse to share." He smiled, catlike, and tucked his chin back atop Thea's head. “Too bad for you."
“Hey, I wouldn't mind an Empress, too. I mean, I've got two queens already. Why not throw an Empress in there, too?" he added, grinning just slightly before something was thrown at him. It hit him in the head, but it was much too soft to be anything other than a muffin, from the looks of it. It had landed, thankfully, in his hands, and he glanced up to see who'd thrown it.
“Mercer von Riegan, you hush, stupid fishface," Thea stated, seemingly the culprit behind the muffin. Senka huffed a light laugh as Mercer continued grinning.
“She has a point. You do realize how that sounds, right? You make it sound like you want us to be part of your harem," Senka stated, arching a brow in Mercer's direction. “I, for one, refuse, and Vi already said he's not sharing, so..." she trailed off with a light shrug of her shoulders.
“It's probably a good thing. Sorcha would kill me if I even so much as thought about it," Mercer replied, as he grinned in Sorcha's direction.
“I'd never do something so irresponsible as to assassinate an important leader in Fódlan," Sorcha said primly. “But I would run off with Rey, since he's so kindly offered, so do consider carefully before you make any decisions, Mercer." She sniffed, narrowing her eyes faintly at him before promptly turning away with a hmph sound.
Reynard nodded sagely. “Always happy to aid in the escape of unhappy ladies. Or gentlemen. Or anyone, really."
Mercer chuckled softly, leaning close towards Sorcha so he could rest his head on her shoulder. “Now why would I do that? Make you run into the arms of another man? You're already breaking your promise. For shame, Sor. For shame." He leaned a little closer, though, and whispered in her ear, “and I thought I was the only one you were allowed to think of, hm?" He placed a chaste kiss on the inside of her neck before pulling away.
“Y-you started it," she huffed back at him, just as quietly but considerably more flustered. Physical contact tended to do that to her, but only from him.
“Ugh, I don't know why she'd choose you, anyway, Mercer. It's clear Reynard is the superior choice, but... well, I guess everyone has their own strange tastes in people," Deirdre chimed in, making a face in Mercer's direction. He only grinned at her.
“Oh, he's not so bad," Sofi said, grinning a little at the exchange. “If you ignore his entire personality he's at least nice enough to look at, for a man."
“Why thank you, Sofi. At least someone thinks I'm pretty," Mercer stated, flashing a grin in Sofia's direction.
“Someone has to," Senka murmured behind the rim of her cup. “Though I do agree with Deir. Sor could do better, but I suppose you are both stuck with each other," she continued, a grin forming on her lips. Mercer outright pouted.
“One of these days you'll say something nice about me, Sen. And it will have nothing to do with Teach encouraging it, right?" Mercer stated, allowing his eyes to slide towards Teach.
“It would have to," the man replied with a faint smirk, taking a drink from the glass in his hand. “As I don't make a habit of doing so."
Several of the others laughed; Sorcha raised an eyebrow in a manner that suggested she quite thought Mercer was getting what he deserved, but she did apparently decide to be more merciful than any of the others, at least.
“Anyway," she said, rolling her eyes a little. “Someone packed cards. Should we play?"
“Yes! Let's play!" Thea stated as she moved, however; she seemed to remember she was in Vridel's lap and decided against it.
Mercer shook his head faintly. He really did have great friends.