A/N: oh no...i've wrote something else! sorry for possible OOC-ness. flynn is amusingly fun to write about. enjoy!
When Estelle woke up that morning, she knew today was the day. It was now or never, she told herself, and perhaps she would never get the chance do to so.
It was an typical day for Brave Vesperia – fighting monsters, the usual bickering between Rita and Raven, and Estelle's daily attempts to touch Repede's fluffy tail, which all ended in failure – and sooner than later, they all had finally settled down to camp for the evening. After a bad (and embarrassing) bout of Flynn attempting to cook hamburger, he allowed Yuri to take over to make pork stew. After enjoying their delicious dinner, Estelle was the one who innocently asked if Yuri would please collect some flowers for her, because she wanted to make flower crowns for everyone? A slightly confused Yuri agreed, and made Karol tag along with him as Repede followed them both.
As soon as they were far out of sight, Estelle knew it was now or never to ask Flynn a burning question she had been contemplating since the two had crossed paths back in the port town: Why did Yuri drop out of the Imperial Knights? And if he was an ex-knight, why did he act so much differently from Flynn? If Flynn was the epitome of the princely knight Estelle had read in storybooks, Yuri was his complete opposite: the vagabond ex-knight that plundered and stole, desecrating the law in his wake. Estelle knew it was not her place to ask such personal questions, but she wanted to understand Yuri better – and who better ask than his childhood friend?
"Um…Flynn? Are you busy?" Estelle, who was sitting next to the knight in question, put down her empty bowl and turned to face him with a usually serious look. "I have something important to ask you but, uh, it's quite all right if you'd rather not, that is."
"Hm? Lady Estellise?" Flynn was slightly amused by the look on the princess' face, but tried to tone down his amused smile as he finished his pork stew. "What is it?"
"It's about…erm, it concerns Yuri," she said carefully.
"Oh, I see," Flynn said, slurping his stew.
"P-please tell me…why is Yuri like he is today?!"
A short, awkward silence hung between them until Estelle realized she had accidentally shouted out loud. When she glanced over her shoulder, she realized that everyone else present had heard her – Rita, who was pouring over a thick book; Raven, who was falling asleep; and Judith, who was combing her hair. Estelle felt heat seeping up her neck in pure mortification.
"S-sorry…" she apologized sheepishly, her face bright red. Only Rita acknowledged her outburst; she cocked an eyebrow in response but continued to read her book. Estelle turned back to the blond knight, still slightly red.
"Flynn…I, um…" Estelle began, but Flynn interrupted her by raising a hand to signal silence.
"No, it's quite all right, Lady Estellise." A slightly grave expression clouded his face, but Estelle was afraid she had touched a nerve. "I had a feeling you would find out about Yuri's past sooner or later, Lady Estellise. Ever since I saw you two in each other's company, I knew that this story would be told eventually."
"Flynn…?" All the embarrassment had gone from Estelle's face, and was replaced by concern. "What could you…you're not saying that Yuri, at that time, did something horrible…?"
"No, my lady…it was worse than committing a crime." Flynn visibly shuddered, and Estelle began regretting this conversation already. "Lady Estellise, you must promise you won't tell anyone what I'm about to say."
"…?" Estelle could only stare at him in shock. "O-of course, Flynn, but –"
"When we were younger…the Yuri Lowell that I have known and you have come to know…has a strange aura about him. This strange trait was not present in any of the other knights-in-training. I could never explain why, but…I knew immediately that Yuri Lowell was a special case. It was not until later that I fully recongised what it was."
"Is that so…" Estelle was getting more confused than worried about Flynn, who seemed to be rambling off the subject. "But, about Yuri…?"
"Yes, Yuri Lowell," he agreed. "That type of person, back then…committed the gravest sin I have ever been unfortunate enough to witness." Flynn's eyes grew steely, and Estelle was suddenly afraid that Yuri would be caught in the crossfire of Flynn's story.
Sometime during Flynn's rambling, Rita had shut her book and wandered over. Bored of reading her book, she became curious about Flynn and Estelle's peculiar conversation. When Rita usually peeked over her book, she always saw his calm and collected face chatting idly, but during his conversation with Estelle, he had twisted it into an expression she had never seen before: an expression of pure rage and anguish, something she had only seen on the fiercest warriors, or perhaps the title of actor was more fitting. Concerned mostly for Estelle, she had plopped herself next to Estelle's blanket and watched him gesture wildly about some sort of event.
"Hey, Estelle," Rita whispered, an irritated expression on her face. "What's up with our knight?"
"Truthfully, I have no idea…" Estelle confessed, her eyes still locked on Flynn, who now began shouting about training with Yuri. "I asked him what Yuri was like back when they were knights-in-training, and he had a scary expression…"
"Hmph." Rita slumped back onto the ground. "I thought he was putting on a one-man play for you."
The two of them watched Flynn shout a bit, occasionally hearing coherent bits such as "Fought together" and "I couldn't believe it came to this!" and simply angry whispers of "Yuri Lowell…" until Rita noticed Judith's presence on Estelle's right.
Immediately, she bristled. "What brings you here?"
Judith sniffed. "I was bored," she explained, a small smirk on her face. "Our knight seemed more interesting than listening to that guy snore. More importantly…"
She glanced at Flynn, who had suddenly grown quiet. "What's wrong with him?" she whispered. "I've never seen this dashing knight so…how to put it…expressive."
"Flynn is telling us a story," Estelle told her. "But it appears that Rita nor I have an idea what it's about."
"No…it's not about that…" Flynn said quietly, startling the three girls in front of him. "It's about…Yuri."
"W-what about him?" Rita asked, clearly shaken by his sudden calm demeanor. "Just what the heck are you talking about?"
"It…it can't be…" Judith's face drained of color. "Knight boy, you don't mean…"
"Exactly," Flynn said with an eerie calmness. He leaned in his seat and folded his hands, staring at him over them. "I'm talking about his lack of morals, of course."
"…What?"
Estelle and Rita's faces also drained of color, and the three girls exchanged shocked glances.
"Morals…" Estelle repeated tentatively, as if testing out the word.
"Yes, morals. Or to be clear – Yuri's lack of that certain mindset." Flynn got up and began pacing, his eyes slightly wild. "When Yuri and I were knights-in-training, we clashed heads over various things – it could have been the fight we participated in or dinner that night. As we butted heads, I knew there was something wrong with him…something that made me clearly stand out from his actions and decisions. It was not until he quit until I realized what the difference was." He paused, and looked directly at the three girls before him. "I, Flynn Scifo, had morals – but Yuri had absolutely none."
Judith stifled a small gasp, while the little color Rita had left in her face drained completely. Estelle, although also white faced, tilted her head slightly. "None?" she repeated fearfully.
"Absolutely none," he repeated again, his definite words sending a chill up her spine. "An incorrigible person…that Yuri Lowell…"
"Somebody call for me?"
All four heads turned to see Yuri, Karol, and Repede, all holding the flowers Estelle had requested them to pick.
"Estelle, Estelle, look!" Karol proudly showed off the flowers he had picked, which included many different colored blossoms. "Can I have a green crown? Pleeease?"
"O-of course, Karol," Estelle said meekly, accepting the bouquet. However, she turned to Flynn, who still had an enraged expression on his face. "Flynn…?"
"Yuri Lowell!" Flynn boomed, pointing his finger accusingly at him. "I knew it!" I knewit!"
"Knew what?" Yuri titled his head. "Flynn, what the heck is up with you?"
"I knew…I knew…! Yuri Lowell, I knew you hated morals!"
There was a brief silence until Yuri said, "So?"
"S…so…!" Flynn spluttered, his face turning a light shade of red. "How can you…how can you stand having no morals?! Ever since those days at the training academy, you possessed absolutely no morals! Yuri Lowell, what kind of life do you live?!"
Before Yuri could reply, Flynn sank back on the mat and breathed heavily, muttering "no morals" and "Yuri Lowell" feverishly. Repede, who was holding a bundle of flowers on his back, trotted over to Flynn, licked his cheek and whined.
"What's the matter, Repede?" Estelle asked, slightly dazed by the bizarre confrontation moments before.
"Looks like he worked himself up into a fever…what a nutjob." Yuri sighed. "Oh, right – this is for you, Estelle." He produced the bouquet of flowers to the princess, and untied Repede's share from his back. "Karol, can you help me get this idiot into his tent?"
Flynn into his tent, all three girls and Repede watching them.
"What was that all about…" Rita muttered, obviously shaken.
"My perception of that cool knight is totally skewed," Judith sighed. "I'm done for now. Good niiight…" she waved them off, heading back into her own tent. Estelle and Rita exchanged glances.
"Let's check on Flynn," Estelle suggested, looking worried. "It's…my fault anyway, right?" she added gloomily.
"Of course it isn't!" Rita protested. "It's all hisfault, you know! Getting worked up about such a dumb thing…sheesh." She sighed loudly and dramatically, trying to cheer the poor princess up. "Let's go! I'll help you make flower crowns, okay?"
With Repede padding alongside them, the two girls crowded around Flynn's tent, where Karol emerged.
"Karol, how is he?" Estelle asked worriedly. "I'm so sorry –"
"Don't worry about it! He just has a little fever. Yuri said it should break by morning." Karol assured her. "He also said Flynn gets worked up those kind of things often, y'know…love, justice, all that kinda stuff." He grinned childishly. "Can I help you make those crowns? I want the green flowers!"
"Of course." Estelle smiled gently at him, and gave him a bouquet to start working on. "Bring them over and we'll start together, okay?"
Karol ran over to where they had been sitting, and Yuri finally emerged, grinning. Estelle immediately rushed to his side and Rita followed her, arms crossed.
"Yuri, is…is Flynn…?"
"Didn't Karol tell you? He's fine. He's so hypersensitive to everything, I swear…" Yuri groaned in exasperation. "By the way…what were you talking about with him, anyway?"
Estelle looked timidly at him, and hung her head. "I, uh…I was just asking him…why you quit the knights-in-training…" she trailed off, suddenly feeling very bad for talking about him behind his back. "I apologize, really I do…"
Yuri shrugged. "It was no big deal. I just had a different idea to promote justice then Flynn did, that's all. I felt trapped by the rules…I decided I had to make some rules of my own."
"I see…" Estelle still looked crestfallen. Karol suddenly approached her and asked about the crowns, and they both went off to weave them. Rita watched them both, watching Estelle teach Karol how to make a crown properly.
"By the way, Yuri…" Rita turned to him and glared. "What was that all about? All that crap about 'not having morals' and 'I knew you hated morals!' made no sense at all."
Yuri laughed, and Repede uttered a woof in response. "Oh, that's just Flynn being an idiot," he explained. "Ever since I left, he's always saying to me 'You have no morals!' 'You're lawless!' Y'know…he's got this grand plan to 'tame' me or something."
Rita wrinkled her nose. "That's so weird. You're not a dog for him to train or anything."
Yuri shrugged. "He's impossible, so I just let him be. When Estelle asked him all that stuff…I guess he finally had an outlet to rant."
"Oh, I get it." Rita nodded. "He did say at some point, 'Are you a dog or a man, Yuri Lowell?!' What a ridiculous person."
"Rita!" Estelle's voice rang out by her tent, with Karol struggling to weave flowers together. "Come and help us, okay?"
"Sure, I'll be there." Rita called back and, giving a sharp nod to Yuri, ran to her side.
Yuri watched her leave, and turned to Repede "She thinks Flynn is a ridiculous person, but she's only known him for a couple weeks…we know more than that, right?"
Repede barked in agreement, and Yuri settled down against Flynn's tent. All the while, he could hear feverish mumblings of "morals" and "Yuri Lowell" inside the tent. Tomorrow, Flynn would be back to his humble, uptight self – bickering with Yuri and dutifully apologizing to Estelle. It was more than Yuri could ask for, because deep down he knew Flynn didn't care if he had morals or not. That was the proof of their friendship, no matter how many times Flynn got worked up about it.