Contemplation Between Elves

By: Aviantei

[Twelve Shots of Summer: Go/五 2/12]

A DanMachi One Shot

Seated on the floor in one of the many open practice rooms of Loki Familia's Twilight Manor, Lefiya tried her best not to fidget.

Riveria's announcements that practice would begin with meditation were never welcome, and that day was no different. In fact, it was worse than usual. Lefiya's already overactive thoughts had been running out of control since she'd had another encounter with that boy.

Bell Cranel.

He thinks he can just steal Aiz-san's attention like that…!

"Lefiya," Riveria said, her cool tone of voice making her student jump right out of her careful attempts to hold position. Lefiya peeked out of one eye, but Riveria hadn't stirred in the slightest. Though it seemed inappropriate for an elf of the highest standard to sit on the bare floor, Riveria still looked regal. Just being next to her, Lefiya felt like a child. "You're not focusing."

Though the words weren't outright harsh, Lefiya knew that dithering around wouldn't win her any favors. "I'm not."

Only Riveria's lips moved, the rest of her not so much as twitching. "I know you understand why this is important."

"Y-yes, Riveria-san." Meditation was meant to allow you to look inside yourself, to gain a better understanding of the magic within you. Though all the races could employ magic to some form, every individual had their own unique signature, that reflected itself in spells and their usage. Lefiya knew it was even more important for her to understand her magic than it could be for others, as Elf Ring required a vast amount of magic manipulation to recreate the spells of others. "I'm sorry. I'm not thinking straight today."

"You won't get any lenience based on your state of mind in the Dungeon." Lefiya grimaced, burying her hands in her skirt out of embarrassment. Riveria opened her eyes at last, narrow slits of emerald that matched her eyes and clothes. "While that may be the case, though, it's best to sort these matters out before we head back for another expedition. What's on your mind?"

"Ah, well, that is—" Color rushed to Lefiya's face as she tried to think of an explanation that wouldn't sound pathetic to a first-rate adventurer. In short, she was jealous that someone—Bell Cranel—had captured Aiz's attention, despite being a rookie. Lefiya was several levels above him, but his rate of improvement far surpassed hers. "I just…want to be stronger." I'm tired of not being able to support everyone like I am now.

I want Aiz-san to notice me like she does him…

"I see. Well, that's a common desire of us adventurers. We always strive to become stronger." Riveria unfolded her legs from their crossed position and looked towards the window. From the high level they were at in the manor, you couldn't even see the buildings of Orario, just the morning sky drizzled with clouds. "You have been improving, Lefiya. As your teacher, I can say that for certain."

Happiness and pride swelled in Lefiya's chest. Riveria never gave praise lightly, but it still wasn't enough to erase the insecurities. The monsters didn't scare her as much anymore, and she understood what it meant to rely on her Familia members. But concurrent chanting was a skill beyond her, just like Aiz and the others, plus that boy— "It doesn't feel like I'm getting better fast enough."

"By whose standards?" Lefiya cast her gaze about the room before Riveria's eyes could meet hers. A plain practice room like any other in Twilight Manor, there wasn't much in the way of decoration, though the walls and floor reflected light in their polished and sturdy woodwork. "You may be a member of Loki Familia, but you should be judged by your own merit, not the others."

"Yes, but—" Lefiya hesitated, sucking in a deep breath to keep her voice from shooting up an octave. "When I see everyone—no, when I see him getting better, it makes me want to get better, too. I don't want to lose." Realizing what had just slipped from her mouth, Lefiya flailed her hands back and forth. "Sorry, sorry, let's just forget about it. I can go back to meditating, really—"

Riveria's lips parted—and let loose a short peal of laughter instead of a scolding. Lefiya ducked her head, trying to hide the wave of heat stinging her cheeks. Riveria contained herself, cutting off the beautiful sound of her mirth. "Apologies, Lefiya. I just think you're becoming more and more like an adventurer every day."

Lefiya peeked through her bangs, catching a glimpse of Riveria's subtle smile. "You do?"

"I do." Riveria rested her hands across her lap, the dark, verdant fabric of her clothes making her skin look all the paler. "Believe it or not, back in the day, Finn, Gareth, and I caused a lot of trouble trying to compete with each other. We made quite the mess of ourselves."

"Really?" It wasn't too difficult to imagine Gareth causing trouble; though he stood as a leader now, he was easily the rowdiest of Loki Familia's top three tier one adventurers. Thinking of the graceful Riveria or the gentlemanly Finn running wild was another matter. Just considering the Captain as a ruffian seemed like it would send Tione seething at whoever dared tarnish his reputation.

Riveria's smile widened, a fond light in her eyes. "Yes, really." Lefiya realized she was leaning forward in awe and snapped her mouth shut. "You remind me of how I was at that time. Determined to not be outdone but distracted from what my true purpose should have been."

"True…purpose?" She already knew her purpose was to act as a member of Loki Familia, to one day stand in the position of top mage that Riveria currently occupied. That was her role as one of Loki's children. Beyond that, she wanted to be useful to her friends, not just Aiz, but Tione and Tiona, so that they could stand together. "What do you mean?"

"It can be a bit difficult to put into the right words." A bird flew past the window, its shadow flitting through the room. "I thought at the time I was supposed to outdo them, because that was my position as one of the line of royal elves. But seeing someone as your rival isn't about outdoing them."

Lefiya frowned. "It's not?" She couldn't think of much else she'd like to do to Bell Cranel than prove who was worthier of Aiz's time.

An amused tone came over Riveria's expression, as if she knew what Lefiya was thinking. Or perhaps she was just seeing another reflection of herself. "When you're rivals with someone, you shouldn't just want to beat them. You can gain so much more by understanding how they grow and using it to improve yourself."

"Using it to improve myself…" Lefiya's whisper was so quiet, she almost couldn't make out her own words. Is there anything I can learn from that boy? He's closer to a fighter, like Aiz-san is. And I'm a mage. We have different fighting styles entirely. And besides, I don't want of my hard work to benefit him! What's the point?

"I see you have plenty to think about," Riveria said. Her clothes rustled as she moved, crossing her legs back into her meditation position. Knowing what was coming next, Lefiya repressed her groan and reseated herself as well. "I would rather you focus on understanding your magic, but self-reflection is sometimes needed to get in touch with yourself. If you wish to think the matter over today, I'll allow it. Once we're done, we'll work on spells again."

"Yes, Riveria-san!"

Without any other option, Lefiya closed her eyes again, the sunlight staining her eyelids red. Not wanting to reflect about Bell Cranel any more than she had to, Lefiya began to count her breaths and forced her brain to go silent.

The distracting thoughts that had been there before didn't so much as stir.

[Author's Note]

Fanservice trash it may be, but I'm a big fan of DanMachi. I especially enjoy Sword Oratoria and have a very big place in my heart for Loki Familia. Since I've been playing DanMemo lately (and by that I mean all the time), writing about the characters seemed a good fit for these prompts.

That being said, this my second one shot in this year's [Twelve Shots of Summer: Go/五] challenge! The prompts for this week were "Caretaker" and "Rival." After kicking around different fandom ideas, I settled on Riveria and Lefiya, since Riveria is the undisputed "mom" of Loki Familia and Lefiya has an almost unhealthy rivalry with Bell going on.

It was a bit tricky to keep up description in such a plain and unmoving setting, but I did by best. Not all scenes are all over the place, after all.

I have a one shot idea I'd like to write for Aiz and Bete if the prompts allow for it this summer...

If you have a moment, I'd encourage you to check out [Twelve Shots of Summer] forum, or any story you may see with a [T-Sauce] tag in the description. We have some great writers producing content, and you don't wanna miss out! Hm, not impressed? Perhaps you wanna join the fray and write some stories yourself!

Regardless, thanks for reading!

-Aviantei

[06.04.2018]