Chapter 2 – Virion & Olivia
A-Level Support
Once again evening had fallen over the Royal First's barracks outside Ylisstol, a quiet calm of exhaustion and hard-earned rest pervading the atmosphere as the soldiers ate, drank, and relaxed after their daily training and duties. Full-fledged members of the regiment spoke and sat with the newly recruited 'lids', as their General had labelled them, many of whom were quiet and even more exhausted than the men and women used to the routines. One recruit in particular was literally unconscious at one end of the long dining tables, his face already covered in profanity and hastily scrawled genitalia.
Said recruit had made the mistake of asking the General, to his face, what the term 'lids' meant. He had spent the rest of the afternoon running laps in full armor and kit as the General explained to his officers that it was an abbreviation of 'limited intelligence drone', and was something that the soldiers of his homeland called the new recruits. He had pointed to the recruit running laps as an example, stating that he was proof of the 'limited intelligence' part. The recruit had forgotten to address him as 'sir'.
The General had also drawn the first penis on the unconscious recruit's face.
The First Platoon's commander, Colonel Virion, had watched all of this happen with a detached smile on his face, content to allow the men of his platoon to blow off steam however they felt necessary. His smile had remained in place even as strong, dainty hands grabbed him by the scruff and proceeded to drag him bodily from the mess hall, ignoring the cat calls from some of the braver soldiers and hushed whispers spread through the room.
Olivia, still clad in her sweat-stiff uniform, could already feel the rumors spreading. She was silently grateful she was facing away from the hundreds of men and women watching them right now, sure her face had gone utterly scarlet from embarrassment as she did something so bold in front of half the regiment.
As they exited the mess hall Virion sighed, his grin finally dropping as he brushed Olivia's grip off his collar, straightening his uniform and cravat.
"I am so tired I almost don't care what this is about," he admitted dully.
"We are going to see Ben and Robin!" Olivia declared.
"We see them every day," Virion sighed. "Why, pray tell, is this instance so special-"
"Because I just had four whole crates of non-perishable supplies delivered at once and I still haven't finished with all the uniforms yet!" Olivia cut him off, her voice almost a shriek as she grabbed Virion by the wrist and resumed dragging him. "I have all my men, all of third platoon not on duty rotations, sorting and distributing uniforms and arms, and I now have to do these crates by myself on top!? We're taking care of this right now before I l-lose my nerve!"
Virion just blinked, sighing a little as he allowed himself to be dragged.
Olivia was tired. She was sweaty, her hair was as sweat-stiff as her uniform, her muscles ached, and she was sick of doing all this work on her own. Now was the time for action.
The two stomped through the officer's quarters, past a curious Noire and Lucina who glanced up from their game of checkers but said nothing, deciding not to get involved. Olivia had to practically drag the exhausted archer up the stairs to Robin and Ben's little perch, silently marveling at how much more muscular the thin dandy had become when she grabbed a better hold on his arm. And the blushing furiously at her thoughts as they approached the door to the small balcony.
Both paused, though, as they caught wind of the conversation already in progress. Olivia and Virion exchanged a glance, the archer shrugging before leaning his head closer to the door. Olivia felt bad about eavesdropping, but…
"… just saying, we're pushing some of the recruits too hard," Robin's voice said.
There was a grunt followed by a clank, the sound of Ben returning the weight bar to its stand.
"I know," the general panted. "And I'm worried about Virion and Olivia. They're both pushing themselves too hard, and we're not exactly helping."
There was a pause before Robin exhaled, the acrid scent of the weed she smoked reaching the pair in the doorway.
"But this stuff needs to get done. Especially organizing all the supplies. Virion's just being stubborn."
"It won't be for much longer. Their fitness level is adequate now. Hell, it's better than adequate. I'm going to rotate them onto some lighter exercise to keep them in shape and start doing some more specialized training. That ought to give Virion and his boys a break, but…"
"The problem is with Third Platoon," Robin agreed. "We need to get this work done, now, before it backs up. The recruits need their gear, and we need to be ready to deploy at a moment's notice."
"Fuck it, assign the next batch of recruits to the Third, I don't care how combat-capable they are. Olivia needs more hands. I hate seeing her so run-down."
"What about Virion?"
"Fuck Virion. If I catch him hitting on Noire again I'll kill him with my teeth."
Robin burst into laughter as Ben grunted to the sound of the weight bar being lifted again, and in the darkened doorway Virion and Olivia exchanged another look. Virion shook his head, and with a very quiet sigh Olivia led them back down the stairs.
"Th-they… are thinking about us," she said softly.
"I believe, my dear, that we have gravely underestimated our commanding officers," Virion said pensively. "Sometimes it is hard to recall that both of them are far more brilliant than they let on."
"So what do we do now?" Olivia asked meekly.
"I do not know," Virion admitted. "Although for my finest of selves I believe a bath and a good night's sleep are in order. Why not give them some time and see what becomes of their discussion?"
"Right," Olivia nodded. "Right. That's probably… the best thing to do right now."
They stood there in silence a moment, the dancer waiting for the archer to take his leave first. After another few moments the silence became awkward, and Olivia fidgeted.
"Olivia," Virion said with a small grin.
"Y-yes!?" she squeaked.
"If you would like to join me for my bath I would not protest, but otherwise I will need my hand back."
She looked down to where she was still gripping Virion's wrist, promptly dropping it and leaping back with a sound similar to a tea kettle at full boil.
"Ah, alack, once more I bathe alone," Virion sighed theatrically, finally taking his leave.
And leaving a practically catatonic Olivia to blush at the base of the stairs.
A+ Level Support
A week had passed since Olivia and Virion had accidentally overheard their 'evil overlords' discussing what to do about their current levels of fatigue and burn-out. The very next morning General Ben himself had practically frog-marched an entire squad's worth of recruits to Olivia's storage room, and according to Virion had sat the archer down for a meeting afterwards to discuss the next stage of the First Platoon's training with himself and Robin.
They had been as good as their word. Olivia had the help she needed, and Virion was getting a break on the PT.
Olivia smiled a little, swirling the fragrant red wine in her long-stemmed glass around and enjoying the summery scent that the liquid gave off. After spending so much time with Virion lately she found herself growing accustomed to such fine wines, and had even gone so far as to procure a few bottles for herself.
"Ah, I do so love this vintage," Virion sighed blissfully. "Twas the year my mother and father were wed, back in Rosanne."
Sitting together in the Officer's Lounge, as the common space outside of their quarters was becoming known as, Olivia perked up.
"Isn't wine more valuable the older it gets?" she asked, eyes widening.
"Ah, it is," Virion sighed, closing his eyes and smiling as he leaned back in his chair. "And before you begin to have a neurotic breakdown as you are so wont to do, fret not; I felt that a small celebration was in order. We succeeded in changing things for the better around here! To our victory over our brilliant, pig-headed commanders!"
Virion held up his own glass in a toast, Olivia giggling and emulating him. The two delicate glasses made a soft 'chink', barely touching as the two toasted their 'victory'. Even though, technically, they had done very little towards said outcome.
They both took long sips from their glasses, Virion draining his own before sighing and leaning back with a great grin on his face.
"We are learning basic tactics now," he chuckled. "Imagine that; an entire platoon with the knowledge to make their own decisions. Truly a terrifying thought."
Olivia smiled herself now, running her fingertips around the rim of her glass. A soft, pleasant ringing came from the wineglass, her smile widening slightly.
"I finally have enough troops of my own to get that warehouse under control," she said after a moment. "I actually don't know what I'll do with them when we're done!"
Virion gave a very ungentlemanly snort, which he would later attribute to the wine, and grinned. "I suppose you may just have to organize some sort of regimental dance troupe!"
Olivia's face lit up at the prospect, causing Virion to burst into laughter.
"Yes, I thought you might like that idea," he laughed. "In truth, I was thinking more along the lines of a 'Regimental Band'; such things are used in the Valmese army, and are said to be good for morale. However, given your skill-set…"
"Oh, Virion! That's a brilliant idea!" Olivia beamed.
In one quick action she drained the remainder of her glass, feeling a slight pang of guilt for drinking such lovely wine so quickly, and jumped up. She set the glass aside on the low table next to Virion's before skipping over to him, laughing as she placed a quick kiss on the shocked archer's cheek.
Then, humming to herself with a wide smile, Olivia spun away from him and started to do something she hadn't done in weeks.
Olivia began to dance.
She danced her favorite kind of dance, her limbs gracefully moving in an improvised fashion as she expressed her relief and excitement. She forgot her fatigue from another day of hard work; she forgot her past frustration at the responsibility heaped on her by her friends; she even forgot that Virion was watching. All she could think about was moving, her whole body singing with the need to dance and express what she felt. It was something she absolutely loved to do, just letting her body move without conscious thought and allowing everything inside to spill out, but it was something that she hadn't had the energy for in quite some time.
She wasn't sure how long she danced, but when Olivia was finished she found a light sheen of sweat coating her skin, her breathing slightly heavier as she basked in the afterglow.
Then Virion began to slowly clap.
"My word," he breathed, smiling just as wide as she had been. "It has been quite some time since I have seen one of those most dashing of dances."
Olivia froze, having totally forgotten Virion was even there. Her eyes widened, her mouth slack as she remembered where she was.
Then she realized that it wasn't just one person clapping.
"Damn, girl!" Ben laughed, leaning against the wall next to the stairs. "You still got it!"
"That was lovely, Olivia," Robin said, a gentle smile on her face next to him.
"I am in awe, Lady Olivia," Lucina said from the doorway to her room. "I am glad I decided to see what the noise outside my room was."
"Th-that was incredible!" Noire added from beside her roommate.
All of these compliments crashed down on Olivia's fragile psyche like hammer-blows, her face blushing brighter and brighter with each passing word, until finally…
"Oh gods!" Olivia wailed. "Don't look! Don't look, don't look!"
Hiding her face in her hands the dancer spun and darted from the room, looking for somewhere she could hide until she composed herself and recovered from her embarrassment. As she left she caught a snippet of the beginnings of a conversation that, despite her horrible anxiety, still made her smile a little.
"Hey, were you two drinking without us! Stingy!" Ben said indignantly.
"You will stay away from my fine wines, you boor!" Virion practically growled.
It was nice that things were getting back to normal. Maybe once she calmed down Olivia could enjoy the familiar atmosphere herself.
AN: Better late than never, right? I forgot to mention, unless otherwise stated all of these supports are platonic. XcelltasticX did some really great artwork for these pieces, and it's a shame I can't post them here. His dancing Olivia for that A+ Rank was great.
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