Guilty Pleasure
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem or any of its characters.
The Greil Mercenaries camp was bustling with activity. A large and fierce battle with the Daein army had been fought not too long ago, and both sides had incurred considerable losses. The majority of the Greil Mercenaries and their Laguz allies, under the command of Ike, were hard at work tending to the wounded and handling supplies. The camp area was lightly blanketed with snow, and the sound of boots crunching into snow could be heard here and there. Mercenaries and Laguz alike were running this way and that, carrying items, weapons, medical supplies, and the wounded to all different parts of the camp.
Reyson himself was exhausted beyond belief having sung many galdrar in the field of battle, but luckily the Heron had not been injured in any way during the vicious fight. Reyson did not quite know what to do amidst all the disorder in the camp. The White Prince was of the Serenes Royalty and one of the last of the Heron Laguz. He was a beautiful and awe inspiring sight for many. A pretty face with shimmering long blonde hair, white flowing garments accompanying the magnificent white wings and delicate body made Reyson such a lovely display. But for all his good looks, Reyson could not offer much help at a time like this. He was no healer so he could not offer much help to the wounded, nor was he strong enough to carry such heavy equipment.
Reyson roamed through the camp, passing Rhys and Mist who were standing beside stretchers and beds, their staves emblazoned with soft golden light as they administered healing magic to wounded soldiers. Mordecai and Oscar appeared to be occupied as well, each carrying large boxes of supplies to various tents in the camp. Reyson would have liked to offer his services, but knew that he would be of no use. He wandered farther into the camp, weaving his way between frost covered trees and snow laden tents. At the center of the camp a larger tent, which acted as a headquarters of a sort, was set up.
The commander's tent flap was open so Reyson watched from a distance as the Greil Mercenaries leader, Ike, conversed with his deputy Titania, and his tactician Soren. All three were seated at a table and were deeply engaged in what it looked to be important conversation as Soren presumably debriefed them of the status of their patchwork army.
Reyson was too far to make out anything that was being said, but it seemed the discussion came to a conclusion as Ike and Titania got up from their seats. Reyson hid himself behind a frost covered tree as they exited the tent, going off to attend to the needs of the camp and the troops. Once the sound of boots crunching into snow faded, Reyson peaked around the tree. Soren had not moved, and was using a quill and ink to jot down more notes on the parchment in hand.
Reyson secretly watched Soren from a distance. He had only known Soren ever since meeting Ike and the Greil Mercenaries, but there was something about Soren that Reyson found pleasing to his eyes. The young black-haired mage had a soft feminine appearance and was certainly something wonderful to look at. Fantasizing about the cute little mage was definitely a guilty pleasure of Reyson's.
Aside from the fact that Reyson found the mage eye-catching, Soren held a powerful position as the army's strategist. The success and failure of the battles fought, the life and death of the soldiers were all in the hands of the little tactician. Such a great power wielded so carefully and respectfully. Reyson found this quality about him to be… well…sexy.
Reyson also had a vague understanding that Soren was a Branded, which meant that Soren had both Beorc and Laguz blood running in his veins. Almost nobody knew that Soren was a Branded, but as a Heron Laguz Reyson could sense these sort of things and picked up on them easily. Soren looked like a normal Beorc except for the mark on his forehead, hence the name Branded. Others assumed that the mark on his forehead was the mark of a spirit charmer.
Reyson cared not that Soren was a Branded, and continued to stare at the mage dreamily. Soren was such a stunning and breathtaking beauty! Never had he met someone who had looked like this, who was so delightfully exquisite. His long black hair shone in the evening sunset, individual strands of raven hair framing his beautiful face as his ruby red eyes looked down at the paper in front of him. His dark robes were neatly gathered around him as he scribbled on the parchment.
The Heron noticed that his face was beginning to feel a bit warm. 'Am I blushing?' Reyson felt his cheek with a gloved hand. 'Dear Goddess, I am.' Reyson looked away from Soren to recollect his thoughts. 'Well I certainly do enjoy looking at him… I'm not falling in love with him am I?' No being, Beorc or Laguz had ever made him feel this way.
Reyson's sudden realization that he had feelings for Soren made him feel excited, but it also made him a little nervous. Reyson knew that as one of the last Heron Laguz he would be one of the more remarkable creatures hanging around the camp, but Soren made him feel inadequate. As a powerful mage and a very skilled healer, Soren had the ability to give and take life as he pleased. Reyson on the other hand, what did he do? He flew around and sang songs! Revived trees! Reyson felt so little and insignificant compared to Soren, even though he was of Serenes Royalty, and was a practitioner of Seid magic.
Reyson craned his neck a little to get a better view of the mage and began to daydream. Reyson imagined himself touching Soren's lovely face with his hands, running his fingers through those long black tresses, undoing those dark robes and letting them fall, revealing his nice porcelain skin, the taste of his lips… 'I need to stop thinking such impure thoughts. This is terribly selfish of me.' Reyson shook his head to clear said thoughts and tried not to pay attention to Soren anymore. But the poor Heron couldn't resist and focused his eyes on Soren once more only to find that the mage, quill still in hand, paused mid-sentence, had looked up from his work, and was gazing right back at him.
Soren had caught the White Prince openly staring at him. Realizing this, Reyson panicked and immediately looked away. 'Oh no, what do I do!' His face and neck flushed bright red as he quickly backed up and bumped into Kieran who was carrying a few freshly sharpened axes (what a terrible accident that could have been!), and then turned and knocked over a stack of boxes with a pearly white wing.
"Sorry!" Reyson blurted nervously. Ulki and Janaff watched the White Prince curiously as his wings clumsily clipped branches while briskly walking away.
Fortunately, Reyson had made it back to his own tent without any further trouble and took a deep breath. 'How careless of me to look at Soren while I was standing right in front of him!' Reyson mentally slapped himself. 'And how stupid of me to act so guilty!' Reyson raged silently to himself before running his fingers through his golden blonde hair in order to straighten it out which had become tangled when he "fled the scene". He sincerely hoped that Soren had not caught on to what he was doing, much less thinking as he brushed some snow off of his lustrous white wings.
Back at the Commander's tent, Soren was a bit confused. He finished the report and set it aside. 'Reyson had been standing there for quite some time.' Soren noticed. 'Ever since Ike and Titania received the battle reports…What was he doing just staring at me like that? If something is troubling him, he should speak up.' Soren hesitated for a moment, trying to recall the manner in which the gorgeous white Heron Prince had turned and left. 'Was that a blush that I saw on his face?' The mage shook his head and dismissed it as nothing. There were more important matters at hand.