Support Conversation ( Raven and Lucius )

Chapter 1

Support Conversation C

Pairing : Raven x Lucius

NOTE : I know the SC take place on the battlefield, but I thought, for this one, a more settling atmosphere would be an inn at night. Okay. Begin fic.

It was at an inn, one night, after a skirmish with the Black Fang, that Lucius felt compelled to stay up later than he normally did. The battle had been particularly rough that day. Several had been injured. The tactician was brilliant, mind you, but it's rather difficult to see in the fog, and the group definitely wasn't ready for the ambush that occurred.

But his mind wasn't currently on the battle. It was on one man in particular. Raven, a man he had been traveling with for some time, has had an undying grudge for house Ostia, the house in which Hector, one of the Lords leading the group, had been raised. It seemed nothing the blonde did would change the mind of the man that seemed so hell-bent on revenge. And he honestly didn't see the point of the anger Raven held in his heart. Hatred seemed to blind the man, but he hoped that one day he could make the red-headed mercenary see things clearly.

Lucius heaved a sigh as he stared out a window at the pouring rain outside. It was dark, and the clouds were grey against the black sky. Not a single star shone in the night. Not one. Even the brilliantly bright moon had been enveloped by the ever darkening masses of floating water. He was just about to get up and go to bed when a familiar voice filled his ears.

"Still under the weather, are you, Lucius?" Raven asked. Somehow...somehow Raven had this uncanny ability to show up when he was running through the monk's mind. It worried Lucius a bit, but no matter what, he always did enjoy his Lords company.

The Elimine monk shook his head as he turned to face his gruff comrade. "No, I'm better now. Sorry to be such a... burden..."

"Something you want to say to me, then?" Raven inquired, taking a seat across from Lucius at the table.

"Ah!" Lucius jumped a bit in surprise. Those words had completely caught him off guard. "How did you know?"

"Just look at your face !" Raven exclaimed, a tad annoyed. "It's about the revenge on Ostia, isn't it?"

...damn he was good. "Y-yes..." Lucius confirmed Raven's suspicions with a small, timid nod. "Is... is there no way your heart can be changed ?"

Raven snorted and looked away, adverting his gaze from the others eyes. "If I wanted to change how I felt, I wouldn't be here."

"The marquess of Cornwell and his wife... They were very important to me..." Tears began to well in his eyes as memories of better times flashed through his mind. His head fell, and his eyes closed "I feel such sadness when I think they are gone... yet still !" His head suddenly came upright once more as a look of fierce determination crossed his face, ready for whatever Raven threw back at him.

"Settling this grudge will not bring them back." Raven replied, leaning against the table. He firmly planted his feet on the ground and sighed, knowing he was in a situation he'd rather not be in. "Should we bury Hector to spite Ostia, that would just give rise to more hate."

Lucius' eyes snapped open, for he was surprised by his Lords reply. "If you understand, then why do you proceed ? Tell me... why?" He felt a small hint of sadness grow in his heart as he heard those words. He didn't understand Raven at all, and he feared he never would.

"Two summers have passed since the house of Cornwell was destroyed. You tell me to forget the crime that was committed." His fiery glare froze on Lucius, once again meeting with his eyes. "Have the teachings of the benevolent gods given you the strength to love thine enemy ?"

"No... No that's not it, Lord Raymond !" Lucius was unaware of his volume as he shouted those words. It was hard to believe that Raven was on the border of insulting the very religion he worshiped. But, once again, the mercenary's next words caught Lucius by surprise.

"I... I have no such strength." Raven shook his head and stared down at his open palms, his eyes subconsciously studying the small lines on his hand. "And I think we were never more than a temporary family to you." It hurt him to speak these words, but somewhere deep in his heart, he believed them. "Is that it?"

"Lord Raymond, listen to me!" Lucius exclaimed, stomping a foot. "You're wrong. It's just that I..." But before he could finish his sentence, before he could say the words he so desperately wanted say, Raven growled and stood up, a scowl on his face.

"If you have objections to my actions, you need not come. Go were you will ! Is that what you want ?" He glowered at Lucius angrily for a moment before stomping off up the stairs.

"Lord Raymond !" Lucius released a small whine, before slumping against the table. Unsure of what to do. This wasn't fair. This just...wasn't fair.