It was hard to resist smirking as Allen watched out of the corner of his eyes as the messenger stood there in front of his desk. The man's face was pale and drawn as if he'd lost several pounds of weight over the past evening and his somewhat greenish hued brow was slick with sweat. Rather than standing with the cold arrogance of yesterday, he now shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, his muscles tense as he struggled to keep his guts in check.
Perhaps it was cruel to be taking his time with this meeting, but Allen felt more than a little justified with this harsh lesson in humility. Still, there was harshness and then there was flat out sadism. While his sibling would quite happily spend an hour pretending to read the documents in front of him before growing bored and acknowledging the man, Allen wasn't nearly so cruel.
"S…sir?" Palos ground out through clenched teeth, his voice trembling with the strain his body was under. "Sir, I apologize for the inconvenience I have posed towards you. There is no excuse for my delay of our meeting, but if I might press that the King eagerly awaits your report-"
"Then you should not have cancelled our earlier meeting." Allen interrupted coolly, not bothering to glance up from the report on surviving livestock he was looking at. "It was rather rude of you to do so, and now to appear before me looking so… ill fit for your duties."
"Sir?" Palos' skin took on an even greener hue and the knight could actually hear his innards gurgling in warning.
"You have an odour about you Palos of house Varinth, one which is most unpleasant. Was the bathhouse unacceptable?" Blue eyes watched dispassionately as the messenger cringed, likely picturing his precious position and further political advancement blowing away in the wind. Men had fallen from power over less and Allen had no compunctions about reminding him of this.
"My apologies Sir Allen." Palos sputtered, the gurgling in his stomach growing more pronounced. "I've fallen ill, very ill. I admit that I'm not fit to see you, but I didn't wish to further delay our meeting." The man was twitching visibly now, desperate to contain his churning bowels. Any minute now, he'd loose that battle and foul the office. That was something Allen had no wish to witness.
Standing up, he gave the tortured man a look which one might mistake for pity if they didn't understand the game being played in this room. Motioning towards the door, the knight made as if to dismiss the messenger.
"Go find yourself a privy man." He snapped. "You're in no shape to be stirring from your bed. Cleanse yourself of whatever is plaguing you before being seen again. If it's some sickness I don't wish it passing to my men."
The messenger needed no further permission to run from the room, his hands desperately clutching at the seat of his pants, trying to press his cheeks together. The important blue bag and its precious contents were completely forgotten in the face of his foul priorities. Not that Allen was going to remind him.
"That was cruel Boss." Riom said from the door where he was playing guard for the knight. The short heavy boned crewman grinned widely around the toothpick stuck between his lips. "I doubt he's gonna make it to the nearest privy though."
What with all the problems currently weighing on Allen's head, he found that the discomfort of a single man was hardly his priority.
"He will likely be otherwise occupied for the next two days." He replied casually as he straightened the paperwork on the desk, making sure it was all in order to give to Minister Charot when he returned to Palas. "Ensure that he doesn't bother any of the crew until he's properly recovered, and for Jeture's sake, don't have anyone touch him until his clothes have been properly cleaned." There was no objection from his crewman, though his vibrant green eyes studied the knight from beneath heavy brows.
"I saw Kio studying the maps earlier this morning. We heading out? Did the prisoners finally give us something good?" Jeture save him from gossips. Allen refrained from frowning at the obvious attempt to fish for information to spread around. Riom was one of the biggest gossips in the crew and even though the man meant well, Allen found that he always had to mind what he said lest it be spread around like wildfire.
"They're still silent, and I'm worried about that one pilot's leg. Teo says that it might be infected."
"Bah." Riom spit his well chewed toothpick out onto the floor and immediately popped a fresh one into his mouth. "The best Zaibach soldier is a dead one. Certain company exempted of course." He added quickly before the knight could give him a warning glance.
"Mind where you are Riom." Allen warned softly, surreptitiously glancing around to ensure that no one was within earshot of their conversation. "Idle banter can lead to the fall of empires." The shorter man huffed in amusement, not looking overly worried despite the warning.
"I'm just wondering what we're gonna be doing with the prisoners. We taking them with us?"
Rather than answering, Allen took a moment to ensure that all of his work was put away in his own satchel before heading to the door and walking out into the hallway. There was a housekeeper idly dusting a bannister not too far away, making Allen wonder if she'd been placed there to spy, or was simply waiting for a chance to flirt. When his eyes met hers, she smiled prettily and ducked her head. The demure action was at odds with how she then stretched out in order to reach a particularly high rung, arching her back and allowing her rather wonderfully rounded bottom to jut out. Both men paused for a moment, unable to help but admire the view being offered, though she seemed to only notice one of them.
"My Lady." Allen acknowledged her politely with a nod of his head, watching as she coloured rather prettily and gave a soft giggle. Admiration and yearning shone in her eyes and he knew that should he desire, the young woman would gladly warm his bed tonight. Perhaps that's what he needed to get his mind off of his many problems. A simple night of pleasure with a pretty girl. How long had it been anyway? Colours of time. Such a thing was simply unnatural as far as he was concerned and upon consideration of that, he felt his smile grow warmer. They would be leaving the village soon enough anyway so there would be no need to deal with fanciful attachments on her part afterwards.
"No guests on the ship, remember Boss?" Riom clearly was enjoying this moment, well aware of his leader's reputation. Noticing the blonde's smile fade, he couldn't help but grin. He knew that the knight would hold to his rule despite his obvious desire. The crewman decided to speak to the rest of the men and see if they couldn't collectively convince him to relax the rule for one night. Maybe they could even find some pretty young tart and get her drunk enough that she wouldn't recognize the kid. If anyone needed to get laid, it was him. As far as Riom was concerned, that was a priority, especially since Gaddes had taken to spending so much time with the albino.
Everyone knew what people from Zaibach were like and he didn't particularly fancy the idea of the kid getting it into his head to start looking at the crew like that. It was already unnerving having to share a shower with the altogether too pretty youth. It was the sort of thing that could confuse a man, but thankfully, it was something that could be easily cured by a lovely pair of breasts and a sweet honey filled hole. Besides, the men wouldn't mind saying goodbye properly to several village lovelies.
Buoyed by this new idea, he glanced over at the girl as they strode past and flashed her a knowing smile before tapping the side of his nose and winking. Her pretty pout of dejection became one of hope which the knight thankfully failed to notice. Yes, this could make for a fun night for everyone.
"You need to relax a little Boss, take in the local scenery if you know what I mean and enjoy yourself." Honestly, he had no idea why nobility were so uptight about these things. The wench clearly wanted a good tumble and here they were, local heroes. Yet the Boss hadn't indulged even once when the crew had been enjoying themselves. A man could get sick denying himself like that. Everyone knew it.
"When I have time I'm sure I will, but we have other priorities." Riom simply grunted at the knight's lack of proper priorities, noticing how he barely even seemed to notice the looks of open admiration he drew from all the surrounding villagers. .
"Like the prisoners?" The shorter man couldn't help but ask as they strode past the jail, pausing only long enough for Allen to ascertain that two crewmen were on duty guarding the door in a more or less alert manner while the guard on duty lounged around sullenly across the street of his own building. Allen hadn't wanted to risk any of the captives announcing the identity of a certain silver haired captain and had ordered anyone who wasn't crew banned form the building. In the wake of the death of the first prisoner, the guards had had little ground to object.
"Yes, the prisoners." Allen murmured. "We can't risk leaving them behind. They'll tell everything."
"You could always just let the kid at them." Riom grumbled, more to himself than the knight. "It worked wonders last time." That comment earned him a rather dark scowl and he decided to shut up before he got given bathroom detail or something equally unpleasant. At least he knew that he wasn't the only one to think that it was long past the time of carrots and they should bring in the stick.
"These men are little more than pawns. We need to find the trail that will lead us to the people behind it. All we caught ere expendable Zaibach deserters.. Yes, they were organized to some extent, but actions such as this were too ambitious. They weren't after crops or goods, they wanted Celena."
"No offence intended Captain, but we can't really know that, I mean, maybe they were just after some pretty tail?" He knew as soon as he spoke that he should have kept his mouth shut and that it was likely only the fact that they'd known each other for years that kept the knight from drawing his sword in anger. "Sorry Boss, I wasn't thinking."
"Clearly." Allen all but growled. "Go see to our supplies. I want to ensure we have fresh food for the trip." The much longer legs of the knight began to quickly draw him away from the stockier Riom, leaving him behind to figure out how to make it up to him.
Allen stalked back to the ship knowing that he was being childish in regards to Riom's foolish words. Yes, Dilandau had gotten vital information by behaving like some wild animal and tearing a man's face apart. That didn't mean that he was going to lower himself or his crew to that level. Besides, he'd meant what he'd said to the stocky crewman. The chances of those prisoners knowing anything of value was minimal at best. The Madoushi weren't about to reveal their plans to a group of untrustworthy men they were sending into battle. If they'd managed to avoid the purging of the Empire, then they were far too clever to make such a stupid mistake now.
No, he needed to take the prisoners with him back to Palas, and that meant enlisting the help of one of the Royals to ensure that they were punished lawfully, yet very quietly. As much as it pained him, there was only one particular Royal who would be willing to keep his secrets even at the risk of her country, though he was loathe to put her to the task for a second time.
Princess Eris had kept her silence in regards to Dilandau's identity during the war, an act which had most likely saved Celena's life once she'd reverted to her original form. Would she be willing to do it again knowing that the youth was free once again? He truly hoped so because she stood as his only hope of acquiring the information he needed without being branded a traitor.
As he walked into the comforting hallways of the Crusade, he could hear amused laughter from the mess hall and headed over in that direction, curious as to what had everyone in such a good mood.
"So then, these damn monkey-men things race off into the woods with the other half of our clothes as we all just stared at them like morons not believing that this was actually happening. Dallet was the first to snap out of it and he took it into his head to chase after the damn things screaming about thieves and waving his sword around. I thought Shesta was going to drown, he was laughing so hard."
"So the big bad Dragon Slayers were stuck there at a hot spring, naked as the day they were born?" That sounded like Ort though Allen had never heard him sound so utterly hysterical before.
"Oh indeed we were. What was worse was that there were about a hundred of the damn things racing all over the place. We had no idea which ones to follow and the damn vermin could run like the wind. Viole finally managed to catch one of the bloody things. It had tried to make off with his boot and gotten it stuck on some branches. Thus began our attempt at a hostage exchange."
Curious, Allen poked his head around the corner and found most of his crew sitting around the table, the remains of a light dinner scattered around in front of them as well as several bottles of wine. Dilandau was seated at the center of the table, an empty bottle in front of him and a half full glass of red in his hand which he was waving around elaborately as he told his outrageous story.
"You mean to say you screamed at them to return everything or you'd burn their entire forest down?" Gaddes snorted inelegantly, trying to drink his mead without laughing and failing miserable. The albino grinned guiltily and took a large sip of his drink, nodding his head.
"Something along those lines. Or at least I would have but Gatti dunked me back under the water. Bastard said it was an accident, but when I got back up onto the rocks, he was telling the damn thing Viole had caught that if it took us back to its village, we'd give it our food in exchange for our armour back."
"Damn that kid had balls of steel."
"Surprised you didn't kill him for that."
"Oh I thought about it, but it had worked, the stupid things took us to their village. Leading us buck ass naked through the jungle like it was a damn parade or something. If I'd thought for even a second that they were getting any amusement out of it, I'd have killed them all with my bare hands. I think Gatti saw this because he had Shesta and Miguel flanking me at all times. As if I'd be any less likely to tear my way through them than the others."
"And I take it the trade went well?" Kio refilled the kid's wineglass without asking then poured a generous amount for himself as well. Dilandau nodded his head happily and reached out to snag a small slice of meat with an eating knife, spearing it neatly and popping it into his mouth. The action was so lower class that Allen was utterly shocked for a moment, fully aware that the young captain detested such rough table manners. He must have had more to drink that the knight thought.
"Oh indeed it did. We got our clothes back and the monkey things were so happy with the food we gave them that they handed over some extra trinkets as well. I'd thought that they were just random bits of junk and was going to just toss them over the side of the Vionne when we got back, but Ryuun recognized one as a rather priceless carving from a famed lost caravan. None of us ever teased him about his love of art after that."
"So what happened next?" The men all leaned forward eagerly but Dilandau simply sipped his wine and smirked.
"You wanted an embarrassing story, I told you one. It takes away from it if I tell you that we then went on an exciting treasure hunt filled with pirates, a lost tribe of beastmen and some crazy water witch. I will however share that when we returned to the Vionne, we were so overburdened with treasure that even Strategos Folken's jaw hit the ground. I even overheard him telling General Adelphos that he was seriously considering sending us out on more week long survival exercises in order to fund the war effort."
"Yeah, I'm calling bullshit on that. No way did you do anything like that." Reeden scoffed playfully. "I think it all ended when you burned the poor little monkeys to ash for giggling at your teeny little white pecker." The clearly suicidal man held up his pinky finger and wiggled it suggestively.
"Mmm been picturing it in your mind have you?" Dilandau purred back playfully, proving that he was more than a little drunk if he was behaving in such a friendly manner. "I assure you, it's never been described as teeny unless I'm standing next to Dallet. The man was a monster! I swear you could always tell whatever girl he'd been with the night before because she'd be limping for the next day or two but had the biggest damn smile on her face."
More men laughed uproariously and it was at this time that Allen decided to step in lest his sibling decide to get it into his head to show the crew what he meant.
"Allen! We weren't sure when you'd be back so we started eating, but I saved food for you." Gaddes grinned at the knight and poured some wine into a fresh cup and handed it over to his friend. "It should still be warm." Several men got up from the table to make room for their leader, but Allen waved them back down.
"We've been swapping stories. You wouldn't believe some of the crazy things those Zaibach kids got up to! Why didn't you tell us they were so much fun!" Dilandau smirked over at Allen and took another sip of his wine. The calculating cleverness shining in their depths warned the knight that the youth wasn't nearly as drunk as he was acting.
"Yes, Schezar, why don't you share with your crew how much fun we had together?" The innuendo was thick enough to cut with a knife though thankfully it seemed to go wholly over the heads of the men; except for Gaddes who choked on his mead.
"I'd rather not." Allen replied smoothly, taking the wine from Gaddes with a smile and sipping it lightly. "Though if you wish to continue to embarrass yourself, be my guest."
"I believe I've done enough damage to my reputation for the night." The Dragon Slayer captain smiled, earning a few gusty cheers from the crew. It was obvious that Allen had likely missed more than a few bawdy tales of their former enemy. "Besides, I need to get back to training for the night. I have a long day tomorrow after all."
Several inquiring eyes turned to the youth, everyone curious as to what was going on. Allen silently cursed himself for not mentioning it to the crew sooner, but he supposed that was his own fault.
"My Alseides requires an energist to power up safely." Dilandau explained, swirling the remaining wine in his glass almost playfully as he studied the reactions of the crew. "Tomorrow I intend to procure one. It will only require a short trip in the Crusade and it also serves to keep me out of sight while that flatulent messenger is in town."
All eyes now turned to the knight, none of them daring to believe that he'd actually authorized the trip. It was one thing to have the kid working on that monster in the hangar but quite another to know that it was about to be powered up and ready to kill.
"You are not to leave Gaddes' side during the entire trip." Allen cautioned. "If I have to tie you both together to ensure that you behave, I will."
"We'll be heading to an energist mine a few hours south of us, at the base of the Chatal Mountains." Kio mentioned casually. He'd been plotting the course all day and was the only one not surprised by the announcement. "We should be back in two days and as far as the villagers are concerned, we've just skipped off to one of the nearby forts to check on them in the wake of the attacks. It won't even be a lie. We'll be making brief stops to warn them about an increase of bandit activity in the area. Maybe we'll get lucky and they can tip us off about any other groups organizing themselves."
None of the men looked thrilled by the prospect of heading to a mine on an errand for the kid. They were even duller than backwater villages, if that was at all possible and they all knew that they'd likely be pressed into doing some heavy labour while they waited for Dilandau to find a stone that suited his needs. It was a task that could take several hours if he was being particularly picky.
Sensing their collective reluctance, Allen smiled at them all and took another sip of his drink.
"The only ones required for the job are Gaddes and Kio, though I'd like either Katz or Pyle to go as well, just in case there are any mechanical problems with Crusade. It's rough country down there and I'd rather not take any risks." The two mechanics glanced at each other and quickly began a hand game to decide which of them was doomed to boredom for a day. Pyle won and he cheered loudly as Katz quietly resigned himself to his fate.
"What about the rest of us? I thought we were going to go back to Palas?" Ort asked as he pulled out one of his many knives and began to sharpen it at the table. "We not going now?"
"The messenger is going to be sick for the next two days. After that, he'll be moving slowly, so I figure that will give us about a week at least to sort things out on our end. Before that happens, I want to give Dilandau a chance to get his Alseides up. If we need to run, I want every tool we have available at our disposal." That seemed to get everyone's attention, especially his siblings. For a long moment, the albino as struck speechless as the knight had just openly stated that he'd be willing to cut his ties to his beloved country in order to keep him safe. "If anyone isn't comfortable with my decision, please let me know and you will be honourably discharged from my service. I won't ask any of you to sacrifice your honour, but I will not turn my back on my brother."
"We're with you Boss." Gaddes stated without pause and several others were quick to agree.
"Our loyalty is to you above everything Boss."
"After everything we've been through? You're not getting rid of us so easily."
"Crusade forever!" Several glasses were raised in a toast to their unity and Allen was pleased to see that even Dilandau joined in. The youth was perhaps a tad less boisterous than the crew, still stunned by the implications, but there was honest gratitude in his eyes as he drank as part of the team.
"Not that I'm against you all having a party to celebrate my leaving your presenc, but this is beyond moronic, even for you lot." Dilandau hissed as the now well inebriated revelers invaded his formerly quiet sanctuary of the hangar. He'd barely had a chance to kill the lights around the Alseides unit, leaving it cloaked in shadows before the crew and several village girls poured into the room. "Schezar wanted me to stay out of sight!" He continued fruitlessly, quickly pulling down his goggles and checking to ensure that his scar was covered by his long bangs.
"C'mon kid. You take yourself far too seriously." Riom chided and moved to slap the albino playfully on the back but remembered himself just in time. "Tonight we make you a man!"
"I assure you I'm a man." Was the scathing reply. "In my country we become an adult the instant we enlist in the military. Doubly so when we make our first sanctioned kill. I've been a man since I was ten years old. Eight if you are going by kills." Crimson eyes flashed warningly as the youth stalked towards the door to the hangar, furious at having his workout interrupted but for once refusing to break Allen's orders.
Even he could see the logic behind it. If he was recognized, it was all over for them. They might be able to silence the prisoners, but the knight would never stand for him slitting the throat of any overly curious villager. Besides, commoners gossiped. He'd likely have to put the whole town to the torch… actually, that could be fun. It had been a while since he'd committed any massive scale arson attacks.
"Stay kid." Pyle joined in. "We're just having some fun, there's no harm in that." Several other in the crew motioned for him to join them and despite his better judgement, Dilandau felt their invitation pull at the lonely hole inside him. Their agreement to defect from their country to keep him safe had come as a shock and inwardly he was still reeling. Yes, logically he knew that they were only doing it to follow Allen, but the knight had sworn to stay by him no matter what. They were family. Was this what real family was? Some of his Slayers had tried to explain it to him once, but it had never made sense to him… truthfully, it still didn't. But inside, there was a strange warmth whenever he thought of their earlier vows and a large part of him wanted to bask in that comfortable radiance a little longer.
"Where's Schezar?" He asked, fully aware that the knight wouldn't condone this level of socialization. Several of the men laughed at the question, making it obvious that there was a joke there somewhere.
"He's found himself a brown eyed lovely to warm his bed for the night. Sweet little thing." Riom happily announced, holding his hands in front of his chest, pantomiming large breasts. "Lovely personality."
"He'd better not make me an uncle." The Dragon Slayer grumbled, more annoyed at the thought that Allen was dallying when he should be minding his crew rather than the fact that he was enjoying a lusty night. At least one of them was enjoying themselves. Dilandau on the other hand was still struggling to come to grips with the realization that his sex life had likely been brought to a screeching halt at the ripe age of sixteen. He was simply too recognizable and too universally loathed to be able to find a willing partner and the thought of forcing an unwilling one made him nauseous.
"Heh, I'm surprised he doesn't have half a dozen little blonde spawnlings tottering around Gaea by now." Ort snickered as he wrapped an arm around a rather well-endowed darker skinned girl from either the edge of Freid or Fanelia. The girl made a twittering sound at the comment which the albino figured was intended to sound like attractive laughter but simply made his skin crawl.
Reluctantly, he allowed himself to be herded towards the group, most of whom had already seated themselves around one of the work tables and had piled several bottles of wine on its surface. Several of the women looked up as he approached and they smiled invitingly, a tad too invitingly.
"Ooooh he's lovely. Come sit by me beautiful boy. I'll take good care of you." One pretty blonde girl smiled at him, patting a space next to her while her other hand deftly unfastened the top button of her blouse, showing the rounded edges of her generous breasts.
"Ladies, this is the kid." Riom stated loudly, earning himself a warning growl from Dilandau. "Now, which of you lovelies would like to make him a man tonight?"
"What?!" Dilandau dug in his heels and glared at the stout crewman. "We've been over this. Whatever stupid rite of passage you're intending, forget it. I'm a man already." The irony wasn't lost on him that he was beginning to sound like a petulant child and that only served to irritate him further.
"Of course, of course. I was joking kid." Riom patted him on the shoulder, earning himself a warning glare until he removed his hand and gave the albino some personal space.
"Go easy on him Riom." Gaddes chuckled from where he leaned against a sweet looking woman with long light brown hair elegantly piled up on top of her head. "Here kid, have a drink." A large glass was handed over to him and Dilandau sniffed it cautiously. This wasn't wine and it had a rather sharp scent.
"My father brews it." A dark skinned woman of unknown origin announced proudly. "It's a family recipe passed on from our homeland." Taking a cautious sip, Dilandau found himself coughing loudly as the liquid seared his throat like fire, leaving a trail of heat behind as it settled in his stomach. Several people laughed, though it was more friendly than mocking.
"Everyone chokes on their first glass." She smiled, looking proud of the effect the drink had had on the youth. "It gets easier to swallow. Give it a try."
Not one to back down from a challenge, Dilandau held her gaze as he lifted up the glass then brought it to his lips. With a quick toothy grin, he then downed the entire cup in one long masochistic draw while the crew cheered loudly. If that first sip had tasted like fire, this was much like what he'd imagine swallowing Basram's energist bomb would be like. He could feel it sear several layers from his throat and for a moment, the world spun rather dizzily. Not stopping until every drop was swallowed, he then held the empty cup aloft as if it were a war prize.
Everyone cheered at his stamina and the cup was refilled immediately by eager hands as he now allowed himself to be led to the table. Whatever was in that drink made him feel rather relaxed and warm right down to his toes and he rather enjoyed the sensation.
Spurred on by his antics, two other crewmen decided to down their drinks in a single swallow. Only Katz managed the feat, but he swayed rather dangerously and two of the women had to help him remain seated.
"I see you're tougher than you look." The dark skinned woman smiled, her tone of voice was one of open admiration.
"Oh Mina, you ain't got no idea how tough the kid is. You're a bloody roach ain't ya?" Ort laughed good naturedly as he kissed her cheek.
"I'm still sober enough to kick your ass old man." Dilandau shot back with a slight chuckle to his voice, rather surprised that the insult didn't annoy him. "Name your challenge." He made to rise from his seat but a strong hand fell on his shoulder and pushed him back down. Glancing over, he saw Gaddes leaning over and the darker man shook his head.
"No drunken fighting. The Boss would kill me."
"Worried about me Fanelian?"
"I'm worried about Ort." That sparked several laughs from around the table, not least of all from Ort himself. "Now drink and relax kid. You need to unwind a little."
"Take off those silly goggles and let us see your lovely face." The blonde next to him purred, reaching out to touch his uninjured cheek. Dilandau caught her hand in his, barely stopping himself from throwing her from the table for daring to touch him uninvited, especially his face. Not even his precious Slayers dared to do that without invitation.
"I…need them to see." He managed to somehow keeping his voice calm despite the sudden flash of raw fury he'd felt. "And I don't like people touching me." As he said that, he released her hand none too gently and was somewhat mollified when she eased away just a little while rubbing her wrist.
"Oooh a temper. I like them fiery." The dark haired beauty smiled and moved closer, making Dilandau eye her warily, especially when he saw the naked hunger in her eyes. While he was used to this sort of reaction from people, he wasn't used to having to restrain his actions in rejecting them. Most people who made unwelcome advances quickly found themselves in the medical bay with injuries of varying severity depending on how much they'd annoyed him. Most foolish would be suitors simply received broken bones, though one persistent captain had lost a hand for daring to take liberties.
While Folken had tolerated the violence of his rejections, fully aware that someone in the boy's position had to send a clear message; the young captain knew that such actions wouldn't be accepted here. It simply wasn't worth risking this newfound sense of belonging he'd been gifted with. Besides, these women were no threat; they could be warned away with simple glares.
Doing his best to ignore the advances or the looks in several female eyes, he took another sip of the drink, telling himself that the alcohol was worth tolerating the dark woman at the very least. Riom however seemed to be more than tenacious in ensuring that the youngest member of the crew indulge in this strange hazing ritual. He waited until the teenager had finished his second glass and enjoying the growing heat in his belly before leaning across the table.
"So kid, have you ever had a massage?" Dilandau blinked in confusion at the question. The conversation flowing around them had nothing to do with what had just been asked and his mind was just foggy enough from the alcohol to take a moment to process the words.
"Massage? Of course." All pilots had access to masseuses. When one's body was subjected regularly to the physical stress the Alseides put on a pilot during flight, massages were mandatory; especially after so many hours in a cockpit. Dilandau had one specially reserved just for him whenever he required. Most likely, Cass had died when the Vionne was destroyed. It was a terrible loss as far as he was concerned because the man had magic fingers and could find overtaxed muscles the young captain hadn't even known existed.
"Miriam here is amazing." He motioned towards a shorter woman with soft curves and a welcome smile. "She'll make you feel like a new man, won't you Miriam?" The woman nodded, her smile becoming even more welcoming in a way that made Dilandau's hackles rise. Massages for him had always been very professional. Of course he'd heard of several soldiers who saw the masseuses as little more than skilled whores, but the concept failed to appeal to the albino. They were there to aid the pilots and do their job. If the pilot wanted to get laid, there were actual whores or any number of willing partners for that. He'd also made it damn clear to his Slayers that such behavior wouldn't be tolerated.
"I'm fine, thank you for your concern." This politeness thing was going to kill him. There simply wasn't enough alcohol available to force him to tolerate these pathetic attempts at seduction.
"Are you sure?" The woman sidled over to him and reached out to stroke along his leg but he'd had enough of this game. In a flash, his knife was drawn and slammed down into the table top with a loud thunk which immediately caught the attention of the entire group. Miriam let out a little scream of shock, her hand frozen an inch above Dilandau's thigh. She was too scared to so much as blink as he glared at her coldly.
"I am quite sure." He growled softly, ensuring that she was properly cowed before turning his molten glare on Riom. "While I appreciate your efforts, give up. I have no interest in woman and your continued attempts to have them seduce me will not be tolerated." Ugh, he sounded like Schezar, speaking all proper like some high blown Astorian. He'd be so proud of his little brother. All Dilandau wanted to do was punch someone in the face and at the moment, Riom was looking like a viable candidate.
"But… are you sure? These lovely ladies would be happy to-" Before Riom could finish whatever stupid speech he had in mind, Dilandau leaned over, grabbed Gaddes by the collar and before the man could react, pulled him over. His lips seized Gaddes' surprised mouth in a searing kiss that left the entire table with their jaws agape.
For his part, Gaddes accepted the kiss, thinking for a moment that he was stuck in another dream. Those lips were just as he'd imagined, soft as rose petals. Beneath their softness was a searing heat which only deepened when Dilandau opened his mouth, his tongue sliding between the second in commands slack lips and stroked languorously along his own.
His mouth was filled with fire that sizzled along his nerves and sent wild sparks dancing through his skin and it was every bit as good as it had been in the dream. Dilandau tasted like wine, flames and raw passion. A heady combination that the older man drank in eagerly, more so when strong fingers reached out and stroked through his hair, changing the angle of his head just enough to deepen the kiss. He could feel it all the way down to his toes and when the youth finally pulled away, all he wanted to do was grab that lithe young body and pull him onto his lap and lose himself in that silken flesh.
Favouring Gaddes with a heated smile, Dilandau then rose to his feet and reached across the still stunned table to snatch a bottle of wine from its brothers.
"Yes, Riom. I'm quite sure that I'm homosexual."
"Well… er… so long as you're sure." The stout man murmured, his eyes round as saucers. Ort looked over at Pyle and held out his hand with a grin.
"I called it. Pay up." Pyle flashed the albino a look of utter annoyance as he dug out his coin purse.
"Really kid? This is half my pay."
"There is a long list of men who could attest to that claim." He stated levelly, not bothering to mention that all but one were dead now. Damn what a depressing thought. "Next time be smarter with your money. I will leave you all to your amusements." Nodding his head to them all, he excused himself from the table and left the hangar, wanting to be alone with the bottle and his memories.
As he left, he could hear the others laughing at Gaddes' no doubt still stunned expression and he allowed himself a little smirk. The man had been a surprisingly good kisser.
Palos cursed Sir Allen with every breath as he clutched at his stomach and shuffled around the hulking bulk of the Crusade. It was his fault that he was sick, he just knew it. That gloating bastard had done it on purpose to toy with him and send him back to Palas in disgrace!
The knight was hiding something. He just knew it and dammit if he wasn't going to find out what it was. Granted, his stomach was making such a task nearly impossible, causing him to dart into the bushes every few minutes to either relieve himself or double over in pain from the cramps. Whatever he'd been given had been vicious and his system was exhausted from the excessive purging. His clothes hung from his limbs and there was no strength left in his body. The ride back to Palas was going to be exhausting, likely forcing him to stop regularly to rest and doubling his time.
The town healer, if she even deserved such a title had said that he'd ingested dantra berries, a rather strong toxic variety which grew rather plentifully throughout the swamp. Apparently he could expect his symptoms to last another day or two at the very least, leaving him badly dehydrated. The old crone had then gone on to lecture him about eating strange berries and the dangers that posed, as if he were some stupid child.
Oh he'd make Sir Allen pay for this. He'd do everything in his power to ruin his place at court, to smear his name from one end of Astoria to the other. It didn't matter who his friends were or what he'd done during the war. No one made a fool of a member of House Varinth! No one!
The sound of footsteps made him quickly duck behind one of the massive levistones on the ship, cautious of any guards that might be patrolling the perimeter. He'd heard that all of them would be inside, celebrating something or other… likely his poisoning. It had been the perfect opportunity to approach and look around. There had to be something he could use, some reason for the knight to poison him beyond the man's obvious petty jealousy.
"I can't believe you just sat there Gaddes." A deep voice grumbled in irritation, the words somewhat garbled from alcohol and as they drew closer, Palos could tell that their steps were uneven, staggering slightly.
"I was surprised Riom, everyone was. Would you have done much else if the kid has turned around and shoved his tongue down your throat?" Oh lovely, here he thought he might find something interesting and instead he gets some drunken crewmen arguing over a shared whore.
"I'd have punched the poncy little bastard that's what I'd have done." The deeper voice sputtered indignantly and as they drew closer Palos recognized them as the short man from earlier today, and Sir Allen's second in command. Maybe there might be something worthwhile here after all.
"Poncy? How many times has he kicked your ass across the hangar? If you'd punched him, he'd have killed you, and even if he didn't, Allen would have. You know how protective he is of him." Gaddes sounded more amused than upset and Palos shifted slightly, moving deeper into the shadows cast by the stones, glad that there were thick clouds blocking the moon tonight.
"Obviously, if he's willing to leave Astoria to protect the little psychopath." Riom grumbled angrily. "Ugh, I'm more surprised than anything. Imagine, getting chased all over Gaea by that brat and his little pack of wolves only to find out that we'd been running from a-"
"Really? Does it matter Riom?" Gaddes interrupted with open irritation now. "The kid's an amazing warrior and honestly, so were his Dragon Slayers. It's too bad we were on opposite sides of the war because I think they would have made incredible allies otherwise. What he decides to do in bed is his own damn business and I don't know why you're all upset over it. It's not like he's made any advances on you… has he?"
"Of course not!" Riom practically yelled. "It's… it's just not right. I mean, he showers with us!"
"And in case you hadn't noticed, he's started using the showers long before any of you lot get up. Maybe he got sick of a bunch of old men commenting on how pretty he was. Yeah, I know you guys were just teasing him, but consider what he was used to in Zaibach. That would sound more threatening than joking to him until he got to know you."
"Does Allen know that his little brother's a-"
"Yes, he does and he doesn't care. I would also suggest you drop the derogatory language and change your attitude. If the kid hears you insulting him and takes offense, none of us will be able to keep him off you. Remember, he saved your life back in the swamp. Try to be a little more understanding of different cultures."
"But it's wrong!" Gaddes sighed at Riom's protest, the sound was rather world weary and there was a soft thud of someone leaning heavily against the levistone Palos was hiding behind.
"Actually, the kid explained the reasoning behind it and I have to admit that it's pretty sound from their point of view. You should sit down with him and talk about this rather than getting your back up. At least treat him with the same tolerance he's shown you. Personally, I was surprised that he left the party as quietly as he did. Two weeks ago, that knife would have been buried in your throat rather than the table."
"I… I just … I mean, I like the kid. Jeture help me, he's grown on me, but I don't know how to deal with this."
"Why do you have to deal with it?" Gaddes sounded honestly confused. "It's not like he's going to go out wenching with you and sorry, but you're not his type so there's no worry there. He's also not the demonstrative type so you don't even need to see it. The only reason he kissed me was to make a point to you so you'd leave him alone. I know that, which is why I'm not at all upset, though honestly, you have to admit, he was the prettiest one at the table. So I figure I won either way."
"Either way?"
"Yeah, I'd bet against Pyle too." Both men burst into laughter and began moving towards the bushes as they continued their argument, though much of the anger had been drained away. Palos was left leaning against the hull of the ship, his knees barely able to hold him up in his shock. His mind was reeling with the enormity of what he'd just heard and he struggled to put it all together.
Sir Allen Schezar, famed Knight of Caeli and hero of the Destiny War was harbouring a Dragon Slayer… from the sounds of it, THE Dragon Slayer, the missing Dilandau Albatou. Worse… the Zaibach monster was his brother and the knight was planning to defect for him? This… this had to be a trick. There was no way that he'd learn something this perfect. It would destroy that damn pompous knight beyond any redemption!
His first thought was to inform the traitor that he knew his secret. Black mail the lofty noble and put him in his place, or use him for further advancement. After all, the man was close to not only the Astorian royal family, but the Duke of Freid and King of Fanelia as well. He would be a powerful pawn to manipulate. Unfortunately, if he really did have Captain Albatou with him then there was no guarantee that he wouldn't be burned to death in his sleep for his audacity.
He'd seen the fires which had engulfed Palas when that red guymelef had torn through the market place. Entire blocks had been reduced to ashes, people burned to death in their beds or crushed by falling rubble as they fled. It had been a nightmare for the entire city, and now one of its greatest defenders was protecting the beast?
No, he couldn't take that risk. The monster had to be stopped. He'd be lauded as a hero for this, perhaps even awarded a knighthood! Bringing Zaibach's crimson beast to justice would put his name in the annals of history. He could almost taste the accolades which would be piled on him. Wealth and the power would surely follow.
There was no time to waste! Moving as quickly as his exhausted body could. He raced back to the inn and packed his belongings, not even glancing at the blue bag or the scroll it held inside. Time was of the essence and he could almost picture a deathly pale form with eyes the colour of flame stalking through the night towards him, that terrifying mad laugh would be the last thing he ever heard. No, he wouldn't fail! He'd warn his country of the foul knight's betrayal!
Within the hour, he was on his horse and racing down the darkened paths north towards the capitol, pushing both his mount and his body until both were ready to collapse into exhaustion.
He wasn't sure how far he'd travelled but the night was still dark with only the faintest lightening on the edge of the horizon to warn of the upcoming dawn. It was a miracle that his horse hadn't stumbled and thrown him, or run right off the road and into the brush. His mad race through the darkness had been amateurish, borne of pure panic. What was he thinking? He had no supplies for the long trek back to Palas and his body had been pushed beyond its limits. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, he found that he could no longer support his own weight and in his single minded focus, he'd soiled himself several times. Foulness coated his saddle and caked his pants but he was beyond caring. Rather than cleaning himself, he simply fell to the ground with a soft whimper, unable to even build himself a simple fire.
Some dim part of his mind tried desperately to prod him back to his feet, aware that if he continued on like this, he wouldn't survive to reach his destination. He was sick, alone and unable to defend himself on this backwater road. Any minute now, that pale demon would be coming for him, setting the forest ablaze in his wake. He was going to die out here, losing his single perfect opportunity to become a hero.