[PK] A Last Cigar

[Weebmaster36 390]

The life of a Wild Mondblume

The Last Cigar

Spoiler

Play This Song PLEASE

 

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Spoiler

Aeira Barclay (Mondblume)
Born in 1779 FA

 

A child stood with her father in front of the gates to New Reza, meeting the men that she would later deem her closest family. That same day would be the day she met her first love, Klaus Makensen, who would pour itching powder down the back of her dress. She would spend her days either with Friedrich Barclay, another boy she had befriended, or Klaus. The days may have been short but the fun they shared was long and valuable. At some point she and Friedrich had made a blood pact, promising that if they ever found something that they would announce the findings together. This later never came to persist throughout the years. Soon the time she had spent with Friedrich faded away as he began preparing for becoming the next patriarch. This fed into the obsession that was Klaus Mackensen, the two becoming inseparable. They would always be seen together, running off to the Wick Woods or the forests that surrounded Oren’s land. What they did inside the woods was never spoken of, at a young age they both would indulge themselves into the art of dissecting wild pigs and chickens. This led to the psychotic traits the both of them would begin to show, leading to almost wild animalistic behavior towards one another. Trading words of “If you leave me, I will hunt you down and kill the one who thought you were theirs.” and vice versa. At one point she had even left a pig’s liver on the balcony of her own uncle Fyodor Erdhart.

 

When the two were not threatening each other with loving words, or hunting purely for the kill, they were in haense planning their next prank victim. The only one the girl only ever cared to prank was her older sister, Loraina Mondblume. Time and time again the sister would be pranked with a nagt tree, ant’s blight in soup, and a plethora of other things. But one day it would backfire on the Girl tremendously, almost getting her kidnapped. She had been with Klaus, using his help to throw a paint bomb and a glitter bomb onto her elder sister as they both broke out into laughter. The two continued laughing as the girl’s other sister arrived, Dhara Mondblume, holding a fishing rod and looking at the two confused. While the girl had caught her sister up on the recent events of things, two people came up to them; one a human male and the other an orc female. The two people had tried kidnapping all three children, the male knocking Klaus and the girl out onto the floor. The next few minutes were a blurry flur, as what seemed to be the entire HRA rallying to apprehend the two adults. A few medics came in and took the girl and Klaus out to the hospital, tending to their heads.

 

The coming days were a blur to the girl, her uncle Astoro Jovanovsk checked up on her several times a day when he was not on duty. But all the girl could do really was sit in her bed, under the stairs and stare at a book blankly. But soon her light came back, Klaus came to visit to make sure she was alright, and took her out to sit under a birch tree. There he came forth with a ring, some letters enscripted onto the metal. “A promise ring, because I promise to be by your side.” The girl smiled at it, and wore it on her at all times. But this didn’t last as the panic of the Infirni war raged on within the lower states of the continent, and soon the evacuation of all the peoples of every nation. But before that, her father had said goodbye to her, giving her his own helmet amongst other things. Amelot The Brave may not have been a present father in her life, but she loved him as much as a daughter would either way. The girl had cried hard and long when she had heard of her father dying, from being pushed into a lava ravine.

 

The next few months spent on a ship, heading to a new world was painful. Her family was split up considerably, her mother and older sister missing the Haense boat as her last sister sat crying into her shoulder. The now woman grew distant emotionally from all she had once interacted with. All ships soon stopped on a small island, letting all onboard stretch their legs for the time being. The woman smiled as she saw Klaus again, running at him and tackling him to the floor. She had gushed over him, complaining about how lonely she had been on the Haense ship without him.

 

When they had landed in Almaris, and the years of construction began and ended, the remaining Mondblumes lived together within a manor. Hildebrand, her cousin, leading the house for the time being. Many of the years were a blur again as she had lost Klaus to whatever he was doing. She had convinced herself at one point he had died, but the next day he showed his face in the palace gardens speaking of sweet nothings before disappearing from her life once more. She had grown angry at him, removing the ring she held so close to her heart and setting it away with the rest of the gifts he had given her over their childhood. But the one gift she wouldn’t put away was a dagger that looked like a sacrificial knife, something that would be a part of some occult or another. The item would always be stashed away in her boot if she was wearing pants, or hidden under her dress if she were to wear one. To silence her anger she would go on long hunts, slicing and killing boars that roamed far behind the walls of Karosgrad. Like she would when she was younger, she took out the animal’s livers and lungs. The woman stabbed at the organs verily until it was a pile of mush and blood. 

 

Upon returning back to the walls and warmth of Karosgrad she had met an Amador. He was younger than her, but she saw just a little bit of herself in him. The two started to court, but the Amador wanted to leave Haense and his noble title for Norland, the neighboring northern nation. She had followed him but only for a short period of time before her cousin and two uncles came to speak to her about it. Even though she did have some family in Norland, all of her life was in Haense and that she had to stop loving him. But this did not stop her from seeing him, following him around in cloth and mask, calling out to him over hilltops to taunt him. She often called him a ‘bunny who had left the safe den for that of the wild storm’. Soon she had gotten bored of taunting him and went back to her life in Haense.

 

While inside the tavern and talking to her adoptive mother, Anna, over a cup of tea at the counter, she turned to meet the eyes of someone familiar. It was a Barclay, but one she had only met ever so often. Cedric Barclay, as she came to know, blessing her mind space of pure and happy thoughts. The man was to be taking over his father’s store, forging a small kazoo for her as a present. The woman smiled at that, not having a kazoo on her since her childhood, and playing a short sweet song. Soon enough the two started to fall in love, eventually having a double date with one of her sisters and another Barclay. The woman loved Cedric’s smile, a Sun’s Smile so she called it, which brought light into her dark mind.

 

Years had passed as the two fell more deeply in love, so far in love that she had forgotten all dark thoughts and locked them away for the happiness she had with Cedric. At last the two got married and she moved into Reinmar to live with him. Soon she had birthed twins, who she had named Reinhardt and Klaus. She loved her sons a lot, to the point she took up knitting to make little hats for their tiny heads. A few years later she had another child, Ludvig, who had been sick since his birth. No one knew how or why, but soon enough the child had grown and left on an adventure. Then once again she had another, a girl named Adrianna who was secretly her favorite. The woman always took her daughter’s side, even when she had snuck into a friend’s house and took most of his liquor, making Cedric chase Adrianna and her friend down for it.

 

The years grew slow as her children grew up, the woman either staying within the keep to knit away blankets or going out on hunts for boars. And she had thought the next hunt would be the same as ever, oh how she was wrong. After giving a loving glance at her husband she left the keep, the last remnants of society for the next 19 years. And in the twenty years of her absence, she had fought hair, tooth and nail to not die to the things that lay within the mountains. She survived for so long she thought how she would return back to Haense, and if there was anything she could return to. In the end she found her way back, and had been blessed with her eldest son’s face, Reinhardt. Though he thought of her simply as a specter of the past, not believing that the woman in front of him was his mother. But after much explaining of her own past, and the inner workings of the Reinmar keep he broke down crying in his mother’s arms.

 

The woman, now greying, had met her grandchildren from Reinhardt, being gentle and kind to the children around her. “So you named one Cedric after your father? Speaking of, where is he?” She asked as they all sat around the fire, the air became stiff suddenly. Reinhardt told her that he died, passed away in battle. The woman stood up and backed away, glaring at her child for the first time. She denied the truth, saying it must have been a lie, a ploy where Cedric would be around the corner. Reinhardt tried to calm her down, but she bolted out of the room running up to the roof terraces where she spent her lonely nights. Her son tackled her to that of one of the roofs, holding her down as she kicked and flailed about. The man now carried his mother from the roof into a room, holding her down as he locked her hands behind her back in irons. The woman shot a sarcastic comment at her son, about how he could lock an old woman in irons.

 

The woman soon calmed down and he led her to an empty room, save for furniture, letting her out there. Reinhardt muttered about her sanity and left her to rest, but his child stayed behind and talked with her. The now grandmother talked about the pranks she had done on her own siblings to the child, and promised to teach them how each worked. The young girl nodded and soon left for bed, saying a quick goodnight to her Oma. The woman sighed as she herself went to rest, planning to clean herself in the morning. And the next morning she cleaned herself, and went into the capital’s walls. She reveled in the unchanged looks of all the buildings, how each loomed over her the same way they did years before. As she stepped to the bank to check what money she did have left in her account, stopping as she caught sight of a very familiar girl. She leaned against one of the terracotta pillars as she just smiled happily at her child, soon cooing out to her. The woman who was Adrianna, turned around and ran towards her mother, enveloping her into a tight hug of love and tears. The woman hushed her and wiped away her tears, claiming all will be fine. She then looked at the man standing a few paces off to her right, who smoked a cigar. All she gave him was a proud nod, herself being a big smoker.

 

 

---

 

The next few months were solem, the woman looking over her empty bed every time she walked back into her new room. “If only you were here Cedric, I know you would be so proud of all our children.” As she laid down, she thought of where she would land after she died. Would it be in the seven skies, or somewhere worse? 

 

The years passed by quickly, barely registering the time as she had spent most of it on a hillside or looking into the lake near Karosgrad. After a long walk she had come across a gathering of Barclay and friends, walking closer to the huddle to listen in. What she heard was upsetting to say the least, so she called for everyone to come to the keep for dinner. They all moved to Reinmar, and into the feast hall. The woman had left to go begin making a stew for everyone, letting them talk amongst themselves. While she was cooking a cough past her lips, nothing uncommon for the old woman. So she kept cooking until she brought it all to the table, filling everyone’s bowls with pork stew. They talked more about how to proceed with the issues at hand. Another cough racked her lungs, making her stuff her face into her arm. When she pulled back she glared at the red stain on her white shirt. Adrianna, one of her children that were there at the table looked up at her in concern, voicing that concern but the elderly woman just waved her off. She pulled out a cigar, and lit it before taking a deep inhale of it. Her other son, Reinhardt, had spoke up about her smoking habits. The woman shrugged his words off, looking at the child who had come in.

 

The child was upset, that much was clear, though he spoke unclearly. Adrianna had helped the child out, and calmed him down. As she did this another set of coughs came over the elderly woman. Reinhardt and her son-in-law Charles helped her to sit at one of the banquet tables. Adrianna had soon returned to her side, pulling out some herbs and asking her brother to boil them into a tea. The woman still had her cigar in her hand, taking another deep breath of the intoxicating smoke. She blew the cloud into the air and let it settle down back to the floorboards. She was about to quip some sarcastic joke when another fit of coughs attacked her, this one worse than the last and having her doubled over onto the floor. Blood and a few chunks were on the floor, her eyes fogging up with water making her unable to see. A soft voice called from the other end of the room, a child, asking what was wrong. At that moment she spoke one sentence, “Get the child out of here- she does not need to see this.” A few minutes had passed before the woman was able to breathe somewhat easily again, using a napkin to wipe away what blood had stuck to her chin. As Adrianna and Charles seemed to fret over the woman, she got up and followed the sound of her son’s voice. At the top of the stairs she saw Reinhardt with a little girl, who held a very familiar teddy bear. Knocking on the wall she introduced herself to the child, going to ruffle the small girl’s hair. Reinhardt had gone to help his mother, worried over her slowly worsening form. She thanked him, standing on the edge of the fireplace with her almost used up cigar. The woman spoke some comforting words before taking what was left of the cigar and draining it to ash.

 

The world seemed to stop for Aeira Barclay, a wild mondblume who fought hair tooth and nail to get back to where she was now. But all she could feel was a burning in her throat as she fell to the floor, a pile of blood, bile and some tears mixing on the carpet below her. Things happened all too quickly yet all so slowly, her daughter at her side begging her to stay awake and the voice of a little girl asking what was wrong. Through Aeira’s tears and blood, she spoke one thing, “Tell Klaus I always loved him, and that he deserved a better mother.”

The blood choked her, her own body turned against her as her life slipped out of eyes. Aeira had died to herself, and seemingly with her last cigar.

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

THANK YOU ALL AND I MEAN ALL OF YOU!

Aeira has been, by far, my favorite and exciting character to play. From her twisted little childhood to her taming marriage, and unfortunate death.

Those Mentioned
Friedrich Barclay/ Astoro : @ColdestPepsi
Cedric Barclay : @Frymark
Fyodor Erhardt : @Wolfey34
Lorina Mondblume/ Ludvig: Queensaber

Dhara Mondblume : @Axsena

Amelot The Brave : @Limo_man

The Amador : @Enyahs V.

Anna : @Wizry

Reinhardt Barclay : @Capt_Chief26
Klaus Barclay : @Fionn__TWG
Adrianna Darkwood : @CopOwl

Charles Darkwood : @Ziggitee

Klaus Mackensen Shall Not Be Named

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Weebmaster36
I missed someone

[Frymark 3100]

Ser Cedric Barclay smiles.

 

Johann Barclay frowns.

[Fionn__TWG 2795]

Klaus Barclay's mind kept returning to the moment he walked into the lounge of Reinmar to witness his mother dead in his sister's arms, and how rather than mourn as he should have, proceeded to berate his brother for doing so and argue with his sister. In typical fashion, he had to go and ruin everything. All he could think of afterwards was the promise he and his mother made mere weeks before her death, one to better their relationship after years of secret resentment of her, all for him to claim she was never his mother right in front of her corpse. All the praying he did to Godan, Saint Tylos, whoever, it didn't matter. Charles was right. He'd never forgive himself for the things he said that day, and he knew he would likely never talk to his sister again. But he knew there was one last thing he could do, as a sort of goodbye to his mother.

 

The crypts of the chapel were dark and wet, easy to slip on if one wasn't careful. But Klaus kept controlled and calm in his moments of grieving, before coming to what was his mother's place of rest. He'd stare at the words detailing her name, birth and death, then turning to gaze at his father's sarcophagus. He wished they could both come back, even if only for a few moments, so he could properly say goodbye to both. Alas, he knew he was wishing for something which would never come, thus he quickly placed the cake he and his mother promised to have together on where she lay, leaving the whole thing for her. "Sorry, mutter. For everything Ich said." he then wiped his face quickly before ascending back up the stairs leading outside.

[Weebmaster36 390]

2 minutes ago, Fionn__TWG said:

Klaus Barclay's mind kept returning to the moment he walked into the lounge of Reinmar to witness his mother dead in his sister's arms, and how rather than mourn as he should have, proceeded to berate his brother for doing so and argue with his sister. In typical fashion, he had to go and ruin everything. All he could think of afterwards was the promise he and his mother made mere weeks before her death, one to better their relationship after years of secret resentment of her, all for him to claim she was never his mother right in front of her corpse. All the praying he did to Godan, Saint Tylos, whoever, it didn't matter. Charles was right. He'd never forgive himself for the things he said that day, and he knew he would likely never talk to his sister again. But he knew there was one last thing he could do, as a sort of goodbye to his mother.

 

The crypts of the chapel were dark and wet, easy to slip on if one wasn't careful. But Klaus kept controlled and calm in his moments of grieving, before coming to what was his mother's place of rest. He'd stare at the words detailing her name, birth and death, then turning to gaze at his father's sarcophagus. He wished they could both come back, even if only for a few moments, so he could properly say goodbye to both. Alas, he knew he was wishing for something which would never come, thus he quickly placed the cake he and his mother promised to have together on where she lay, leaving the whole thing for her. "Sorry, mutter. For everything Ich said." he then wiped his face quickly before ascending back up the stairs leading outside.

Aeira who had not yet rose to the seven skies already forgave her son, placing a ghostly kiss to that of his head.

[Capt_Chief26 1207]

Ser Reinhardt mourned the loss of his mother, he was not sure why to be honest.. he had remembered the day she had wandered back into their lives after her 19 year absence, when he had drawn a sword on her thinking she was some specter from a life past come to haunt him… there had been a lot of that happening then. He thought back to when he had her … his own mother on the ground in tears, begging for her life because of his delusion. Reinhardt sobbed knowing he had taken such actions in front of his children… his children, by far the only people aside from his beloved wife that kept him sane in this world anymore. His thoughts dwelled on his missing son, Cedric and how head had spent years trying to find him. He had refused to abandon him like he had perceived his mother and father abandoning his siblings and him. He thought of the day he had found out his father died…the sorrow, the rage, and grief taking their hold in him, driving him into depression. His mental health had then taken a turn for the worst … due to the belief he wasn’t good enough… strong enough to take care of his siblings, he had no idea what he was doing, essentially raising his little sister through the remainder of her childhood. Reinhardt bowed his head in prayer thanking Gott for at least sending him loved ones like his wife Noemie that helped right him in his life, help him make that climb out of the valley he had dug himself in, allowing for him to see that next sunrise. The years of work, effort that went into trying to escape that mindset had been undone when his mother drawn her last breath… he snapped but not in the seclusion or privacy of himself but in front of his two of his beloved children Emil and Ilse, breaking down into a fit of hysteria, hearing ghost and gazing upon what he had believed to be his deceased father. He had come to realization when he snapped out of it… Reinhardt realized his own mortality as a man… and one day his children would very likely be the ones cradling him as he drew his final breath… but the question remains of who would be the one to gaze upon him while he entered into eternity.

Edited November 10, 2021 by Capt_Chief26
Wrong colored texts

[Gandhi 3225]

Charles Darkwood...had just stood there, as Aeira spat out bits of blood; and for that, his eyes drew strewn out between Adrianna and herself as he heard the constant murmuring of Reinhardt ring through his ears, a quiet attempt to comfort his young daughter into believing everything was okay. He felt helpless, until he finally made his way forth and kneeled down beside her, his hand initially set on her shoulder in confusion on what he should do to comfort her; and then to her back as he tried to help Adrianna sit her up. Both of them knew she was a lost cause, but his wife wasn't about to give up and as she murmured her finally words and collapsed back. Adrianna sobbed and sobbed, it seemed like there had no end to it...

 

After Klaus' eventually arrival and Reinhardt's departure; stood himself, Dietrich, Klaus and Adrianna. It seemed to go by in a flash: him and his brother-in-law's quick exchange of words; Klaus' slap at the hands of his sister.. "There are many things Ich regret Charles, what's one more!" Klaus roared aloud to Charles, it stuck in his mind for the following days; it had seemed to draw away his mind from Aeira's departure, if not for just a few minutes at a time. 

 

Nevertheless,

He couldn't help but cry to himself, still distanced from his wife he knew; it was probably for the best..


On the other side of the Keep,

sat a young August Barclay. He had finally heard  the news from his father, and so he did nothing but resort to solemnly frowning to himself. He never knew her after all; and he just continued reading, reading through all the cries and shouting.

[CopOwl 1707]

Adrianna Darkwood née Barclay sat alone in her bedroom of the Barclay Keep. She had sat alone for a long time, many months. Many people had come and gone from the door with the soft taps of their knuckles against it, but there were only two whom entry was permitted to as the miserable woman sat enveloped in black and dark veils on her broad bed.

Only her children were bade to enter and when they attempted to elicit a response from her they met solemnity, and for those so young it must have been frightening.

 

Adrianna Darkwood had shut down.

 

It felt just like when she received the letter, barely past 14 winters, of her father's demise and the message he left her always remained somewhere on her person as a reminder else she knew she'd forget and be overcome with rage towards him once again.

And now her mother, such light in her life, had puffed out like a candle drenched by a storm.

 

She remembered how it all happened.

 

The Barclay party had just barely been discussing their future plans when things had gone awry. Eventually everything faded out and all Anna could hear were were her dying mother's hacking coughs and the constant thumping rhythm of her own heart.

And the crying.

So..

Much crying.

By the time it was all over she felt she had no tears left to give, and from that point she made no nose, let no tears loose and responded to nothing. 

Her mother's corpse lay in her arms, long after it had been cleaned up and the body left to lie in the crypts.

Her hands were stained with her mother's blood. Those hands that helped. Those hands that healed.

But she had not helped and she had not healed. She had done no harm, as her life-long oath tied her. She had done worse. Far, far worse.

 

She had done nothing.

[Weebmaster36 390]

On 11/9/2021 at 4:17 PM, Capt_Chief26 said:

Ser Reinhardt mourned the loss of his mother, he was not sure why to be honest.. he had remembered the day she had wandered back into their lives after her 19 year absence, when he had drawn a sword on her thinking she was some specter from a life past come to haunt him… there had been a lot of that happening then. He thought back to when he had her … his own mother on the ground in tears, begging for her life because of his delusion. Reinhardt sobbed knowing he had taken such actions in front of his children… his children, by far the only people aside from his beloved wife that kept him sane in this world anymore. His thoughts dwelled on his missing son, Cedric and how head had spent years trying to find him. He had refused to abandon him like he had perceived his mother and father abandoning his siblings and him. He thought of the day he had found out his father died…the sorrow, the rage, and grief taking their hold in him, driving him into depression. His mental health had then taken a turn for the worst … due to the belief he wasn’t good enough… strong enough to take care of his siblings, he had no idea what he was doing, essentially raising his little sister through the remainder of her childhood. Reinhardt bowed his head in prayer thanking Gott for at least sending him loved ones like his wife Noemie that helped right him in his life, help him make that climb out of the valley he had dug himself in, allowing for him to see that next sunrise. The years of work, effort that went into trying to escape that mindset had been undone when his mother drawn her last breath… he snapped but not in the seclusion or privacy of himself but in front of his two of his beloved children Emil and Ilse, breaking down into a fit of hysteria, hearing ghost and gazing upon what he had believed to be his deceased father. He had come to realization when he snapped out of it… Reinhardt realized his own mortality as a man… and one day his children would very likely be the ones cradling him as he drew his final breath… but the question remains of who would be the one to gaze upon him while he entered into eternity.

Aeira put a hand onto her child's shoulder, a cold caring hand before she departed to her next kin.

18 hours ago, CopOwl said:

Adrianna Darkwood née Barclay sat alone in her bedroom of the Barclay Keep. She had sat alone for a long time, many months. Many people had come and gone from the door with the soft taps of their knuckles against it, but there were only two whom entry was permitted to as the miserable woman sat enveloped in black and dark veils on her broad bed.

Only her children were bade to enter and when they attempted to elicit a response from her they met solemnity, and for those so young it must have been frightening.

 

Adrianna Darkwood had shut down.

 

It felt just like when she received the letter, barely past 14 winters, of her father's demise and the message he left her always remained somewhere on her person as a reminder else she knew she'd forget and be overcome with rage towards him once again.

And now her mother, such light in her life, had puffed out like a candle drenched by a storm.

 

She remembered how it all happened.

 

The Barclay party had just barely been discussing their future plans when things had gone awry. Eventually everything faded out and all Anna could hear were were her dying mother's hacking coughs and the constant thumping rhythm of her own heart.

And the crying.

So..

Much crying.

By the time it was all over she felt she had no tears left to give, and from that point she made no nose, let no tears loose and responded to nothing. 

Her mother's corpse lay in her arms, long after it had been cleaned up and the body left to lie in the crypts.

Her hands were stained with her mother's blood. Those hands that helped. Those hands that healed.

But she had not helped and she had not healed. She had done no harm, as her life-long oath tied her. She had done worse. Far, far worse.

 

She had done nothing.

Aeira had sat next to her daughter, saddened at her state. She gave a gentle kiss to the head before departing.