Felinis: Finally wrapping up this arc of the game! It' fun getting the characters to the same place even if the events leading them there are different.

If being sick means having a body that feels like it's on fire then Yuri would pass indefinitely. He knows he's woken up a few times and water is pumped into him, but it's never long enough to wake up. He knows that someone walks in from time to time… He's too hazy to tell who it is.

Yuri can't explain the way his emotions are bouncing around in his head. Sometimes his emotions are floating on cloud nine other moments he's crying in his sleep. He starts screaming and he's not really sure why…

A hand stops his squirming and Yuri wonders if Flynn is in there. But, the hand is far too small and soft for Flynn's…

"Yuri what's the matter?" His eyes lazily open and finally sees Estelle next to him. Man, is Yuri pathetic. He attempts to roll on his side and turn away, but just doesn't have the energy… "Is something wrong?" Her sweet green eyes big and pleading. "You were crying and screaming. I was worried!"

Yuri gives her the best answer he can. "I don't know. I just… I… I feel all over the map."

"Well, you're more awake so you seem to be getting better."

"How long have I been sick?"

"Not too long. Just two days." She says and there's a sudden want to rush back into things. They were in the middle of chase! He doesn't have time for this! She pushes him back before he can even attempt get up. "Oh no, you don't! You are staying in bed until you are back to full health."

With a loud huff, he stays still and glares at Estelle. "The knights not freaking out that you're hanging out with degenerative Krytian?"

"Personally, I don't care what they think." Estelle says in that casual kind tone that's so quintessentially her.

"Really?" He says with a hint of mischief.

"Yes, really!" She says firmly holding her head up high. "Yuri, I find it insulting you'd think that I'd avoid you simply because you happen to be different. I'm your friend and you can trust me to stand by no matter what."

"Talk is cheap." Yuri spits and her head falls.

"That may be true. I can't do much to show my conviction…" He expects her to leave or to feel worse. He expects her to bargain. Instead, Estelle smiles with all the love in the world. "But, Yuri… I think that those horns are beautiful!"

…What…?

"I don't know what talking you're about!"

Estelle chuckles. "Of course. Silly me, I meant that those antennas are wonderful."

Yuri's face feels flushed and he asks for water. She quickly pours a glass and hands him a cup. "No they aren't."

"But, they are! The color is so pretty and they look so soft. Karol thinks that they make you look cool." There is nothing good he can think that can come from being a freak like this. "It makes me wish I'd met a Krytian sooner. I always thought they looked like monsters or were ugly from everything I'd been told. But… I think you might be the most amazing person I've ever met!"

"Then you need to get out more. I'm nothing special."

She laughs. "Well, if you're feeling good enough to joke then you must be feeling better."

Yuri laughs with her and suddenly he can't stop laughing. Yuri then starts trembling and he realizes he's very hungry. When did he last eat anything? "Can I get something to eat?" He says finally managing to stop only to find he's drooling uncontrollably. The door slams and he tries to stop but it just keeps dripping. He wipes it away repeatedly and is relieved a moment only to see he's crying. Estelle walks in with a trash that Yuri devours ravenously, but he's still hungry and demands another. He's halfway through the second tray when the hunger turns to revulsion and he vomits into his soup. But, he's still hungry… and still crying! "What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Your biology is… well, as Rita put it 'fucked up'. Your body is going to need time to get used to changes."

"Great!" He says plopping backwards in bed. "Like I didn't have enough problems."

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you're thinking."

"Yes it is! I feel like shit. My body is treating me like crap. And Flynn is going to be a pain in the ass the whole time I'm like this." The idiot never could just let him be! There was always some reason for Flynn to lecture him. "He shouldn't waste his time."

Estelle shakes her head finding his words silly for reason he can't quite fathom. "I doubt he sees it as a waste."

Sleep takes him awhile and another two days Yuri finally feels well enough to walk around despite Estelle's constant protest. Yuri doesn't care and just moves around the room anyway. Karol comments on how he's amazing for getting back up on his feet so soon, but Yuri doesn't think so. He still feels terrible, but he's never been able to sit still.

The moment he walks into another room of the inn his eyes narrow at the sight of Ragou drinking tea next to the man he saved from the ship. Flynn is standing to the side firmly and gives him the eye. Yeah, yeah, Yuri should be in bed. Yada, yada, yada.

The blonde man drinking tea smiles and waves Yuri over. "Oh good you're finally awake." Yuri sees the way the aer around him seems similar to Estelle's but on a far smaller scale. A relative? "I wanted to thank you for saving my life back on the boat."

"Oh, it was nothing."

The man shakes his head and bows slightly. "Nonsense. You saved my life at the risk of your own."

Karol whispers up in his ear. "Yuri, this guy is a prince!"

"Really?" Yuri smiles. "Well, now I can add that to my list of good deeds." His eyes drift to Ragou who is sitting there without a care in the world. The filthy rat!

"Please allow me to introduce myself, I am Ioder one of the imperial candidates to the throne."

"Pleasure." He says as Ragou snorts.

"Your highness you don't need to bother thanking such a lowly creature."

Yuri clenches his fists but keeps a calm smile. "Amusing comments coming from a murderer."

"Murderer? Me! I have no idea what you're talking about." Ragou smiles slyly while Flynn clenches his jaw. "In fact, I believe this is the first time we've ever met."

"Convenient time for amnesia. I know somebody who can fix that for you."

"Amnesia? I'm terribly sorry, but this is the first time we've met."

"You locked me in a basement. You tried to kill me." Yuri is itching to drive a blade into this asshole.

"As I've said to your companions before, someone had assumed my identity and was trying to ruin my reputation." Ragou sips his tea and Yuri is struggling not to try and hurt this man for his actions.

Yuri looks at Flynn who's turned his back to him. "Flynn are you just going to let him get away like this?" His friend doesn't move and just looks at the ground.

"It's settled then. I bid you all good day." The rat leaves and Rita spits in his direction.

"Who does that guy think he is?" Rita mutters. "Pretending to be innocent!"

Karol nods. "I hate him."

Idoer sighs. "It's sad, but with his power he will likely get away with his actions."

"An alleged imperial heir captured by a so-called magistrate. That's interesting." Yuri says trying to think what the connections are. Why are the guilds and a corrupt magistrate working together? More importantly why capture an heir to the throne.

Estelle clutches her hand and starts to think. "...I see. Then this incident means that I..."

"A little too juicy for public consumption, huh?" He smiles and she nods. Both candidates missing and now found. The council must be in fits at the fact that their pawns aren't where they should be. Especially, if Ragou was so shocked to see Estelle. "It's got something to do with your decision to leave the castle, doesn't it?" Estelle stays silent and twiddles her thumbs. "Do whatever you want." Yuri's gaze drifts to Flynn. "I've got no interest in an empire that just sits and does nothing while its people suffer in plain sight. "

Flynn finally snaps and looks him in the eye. "And what have you changed by turning your back on such an empire? We need just laws laid down by the government to ensure that people can live lives of stability and peace."

Yuri laughs. "Those same laws just let Ragou walk out that door." The same laws that would have gotten Yuri executed just this week had they still been in place. The same laws that said Flynn was better than him. Laws saying that the people of the Lower Quarter deserved to be exploited because they had no value. Those laws were something both men had held with such hatred their whole lives.

"Which is why you and I became knights, Yuri. To change things like that." The idea when they were kids that becoming a knight would change everything for the better was ridiculous. Yuri has and always will be a cynical man. Flynn was born with idealism and the ability to change the world. Yuri was born jaded and disillusioned by the world. "If we couldn't make it happen by yelling about it from below then we said we'd gain honor and trust, and fix the empire from within. Remember?"

Of course he does! They made the resolve the day the decided to be friends. But, it's a stupid promise! Yuri was never going to go anywhere in the knights… "So in order to get ahead in life, I'm supposed to stand by while somebody feeds little kids and people like me to monsters? Is that it?"

"You want me to look the other way when our people in the Lower Quarter are being bled dry by taxes?" When the Public Quarter gets relief during disease outbreaks and famines? "It's because I can't do those things that I quit being a knight." Being in the Niren Corps made him see how necessary it was to break rules. That the law wouldn't do everything! Flynn knew that too, but here was trying to brown nose just for a promotion.

"I know. But has anything changed because you quit?" Flynn says and it's a slap in the face. "How is anything different than it was before you joined the Knights?"

Yuri stomps out the door pissed.

Flynn sighs and rubs his brow. "I've done it again... I only want for him to move on with his life. To quit sitting around." Flynn has never blamed Yuri for being curious, but his obsession to find information on what he is has always seemed pointless. He knows Yuri could change the world if he stopped caring about stupid things like that. Flynn doubts Yuri will ever do that now that he's… well a Krytian… He's going to let that information fester like a fool. Flynn hates that he's letting a murderer walk free, but he's playing the long game for now. He awkwardly smiles and tries to relieve the tension especially from Estelle. "...My apologies for such an embarrassing scene."

Ioder looks to his cousin curiously. "What do you intend to do next?"

Estelle meekly looks to the door. "Would it be all right if I go with him?"

"Why?'

"...I feel like so much has changed during my travels with Yuri. The empire, the world..." She says and Flynn sees the gleam in her eyes. "I've changed as well..."

"Lady Estellise..." Flynn knows what he should be doing. What he's supposed to do… but this is the first real freedom Estelle has ever tasted. "Understood." He turns to Karol. "You there, young man."

The boy straightens up nervously. "Who...m-me?"

"Tell Yuri to take good care of this young lady."

"O-okay...!" The child salutes and Flynn thinks it's adorable.

"Is it really all right...?" Estelle says still unsure.

"I would rather do the job myself, but I'm afraid my current duties won't allow it." It's a blatant lie, but no one seems to catch it. "And as long as you're with him, I can be certain you'll be safe."

Estelle smiles. "You really believe in him."

"I do."

Rita rolls her eyes. "If you guys are finished, can we get going? We'll lose him if we don't hurry." She grabs Estelle by the arm and pulls her along.

Yuri punched the wall furiously knowing he's still sick, but not giving a rat's ass. "Damn, he knows how to get to me..." He grips the stone and grinds his teeth. "I know better than anyone that nothing's changed." The antennas at the edge of his vision mock him. "Nothing good, at least." Nothing that can help.

He decides that before someone drags him back to bed he should walk around some more. He's rested long enough and needs to find that core thief. The way he looks Barbos should stick out like a sore thumb walking around in town. He's surprised while walking that nobody seems to give him much a passing glance. Karol had said Capua Torim had a different vibe, but this was more than he expected.

As he's walking a sight catches his eyes and he dashes after the figure standing in the calm streets. "Hey!"

The man turns awkwardly with a smile. "Hmm...? H-hey there, long time no see. Love the new look."

"Isn't there something else you should be saying?" Yuri growls grabbing the man by the color.

The man strokes his chin as if in deep thought and shrugs suddenly pulling away. "Something else? Hmm, can't think of anything." He stops. "Oh! Right. Sorry for tricking your friends. I swear I'm not a bad guy. I'm just terribly misunderstood, honest!"

Yuri has honestly no idea what the man is talking about "What the fuck…" Oh wait, Rita was pretty pissed when she mentioned some crummy old man tricking them. "You need to see a doctor for your tendency to unconsciously cause trouble to others."

The man shakes his head. "Ya might see if ya can get that foul mouth of yours checked out, too. What would your mother think of you for cursing in public?" Who cares. She's probably dead anyway.

"Got a comeback for everything, huh? If you don't stop putzing around, the Knights are gonna throw you back in jail!"

The man laughs. "Heh, the Knights are a bit too busy to bother with me. I saw a rough-looking guild group moving to the northwest not too long ago. The Knights can't just turn a blind eye to them, can they?"

Yuri narrows his eyes. The man is clearly trying to avoid the subject, but if he can keep the man around he should be able to pry some answers. "...Rough-looking, you say? Was it the Blood Alliance?"

He leans back on his arms with a grin. "Beats me."

"So about Hanna Quinn-"

"It's a shame I didn't find what I was looking for." The man interrupts. "I looked all over and didn't see a single apatheia."

"Which would be?"

"Supposed to be like a really strong core. Heard that it was there but I guess I had the wrong information." He's definitely trying to doge Yuri's questions.

"I see... an 'apatheia'... Wouldn't have anything to do with Hanna Quinn?"

The man turns around. "… Hmm… sorry that info don't come cheap."

"Oh! Yuri! Hey, over here!" A voice calls and Yuri sees Karol and the others in the distance. The boy is running forward with a smile while Rita turns to fury when she sees the old man in her sight.

"Argh, I'll get you, old man!" She screams blazing down the street with fire in her eyes.

The man whistles. "Hmm, maybe I'd best be off, now."

"Not until I get some answers!" Yuri says but he slips away.

Rita stops and huffs at his feet. "Wait, damn it! I'm gonna beat you senseless!"

Karol catches up and looks in the distance at the fleeting figure. "Why'd you let him get away?"

"That old man is slipperier than you'd think." Yuri huffed crossing his arms. "He said he's terribly misunderstood."

Karol raises his brow. "What? What does that mean...?"

He shrugged because Yuri honestly not sure. "...He got away. I'll catch that bugger one of these days..." Rita is absolutely livid as she pounds her foot repeatedly on the stone.

"I'll help." Yuri says crossing his arms. Estelle finally makes it to the scene rightfully out of breath. "You all right?"

"...Just let me...take a...little break." She nods with a huff.

"Sure, you can have a little one. Then we've gotta go."

"Go? Go where?" Karol says.

"We need to follow the Blood Alliance to get back the Lower Quarter's blastia."

Estelle gets in his face. "Oh no, you don't! You're still not back to a hundred percent!"

"You really expect me to stay still and quiet for more than a day?"

Estelle sighs. "Not at all. You're too much of an idiot. Did you get a lead on where to go next?"

Yuri grins. "I heard that a shady group from a guild was headed to the northwest. It might be them."

Karol thinks a moment. "To the northwest of here...the only city I can think of in that direction would be one that was destroyed in an earthquake."

"What could they want to do in a place like that?" Estelle ponders.

"Hmm, good question." Yuri can say that he's more than curious about finding the answer. This whole plot is becoming very interesting.

Rita sighs. "And yet you still want to go?"

"I'm just saying we should go and check it out."

Estelle nods. "But, only after you get another night's rest."

Karol looks at the current blade hanging off Yuri's side. "And after you get a real sword."

"I'll agree to both demands. Besides the days pretty late and I could use another meal." Yuri says noting that he's hungry again. Thankfully, there's no drool running down his cheek. They stop by the store where Yuri picks up a decent gladius for him to use and supplies.

That night at the inn they all share one large room since it's cheaper. Flynn's off galivanting somewhere and Yuri is relieved to have a break from him. The girls stick on one side and the boys on the other. As the others sleep Rita asks him idly in Geraios. "You sure you're actually up for this?"

He leans back in the bed. "Where'd that come from?"

"You've been through a lot of shit in one week. I'm amazed you're as put together as you are."

He's not okay though. It took him a lot longer than he'd like to admit to get his body to not act funny. The doctor said it was normal, but frankly Yuri thinks that his emotions and body should react how he wants. Fuck what logic says! Yuri was doing as he pleased. "I'm nothing special."

Rita rolls her eyes. "Right. Both you and Estelle have some weird shit going on. I'm getting to the bottom of it whether you like it or not."

"Am I your new test subject?"

She snorts. "Hardly. I deal with blastia not biology. You just happen to be an interesting side project." There's no doubt in Yuri's mind that Rita is hungry to know answers on her two subjects. The girl is avaricious for knowledge. Yuri idly brushes his antenna noting the rough sting. All day it was causing an unpleasant sensation when he was walking around. "Here."

Rita hands him a hair tie and he's nervous to pull his hair up. air has always served as a protection for Yuri. It was thick enough that he didn't have to worry about anyone noticing the stubs without combing his hair. "Have you never worn your hair up?"

"Yeah, I just don't like to."

"You're going to rub your nerves raw if keep wearing your hair like that." Rita crosses her arms looking away. "And for the record, I doubt anyone is going to see anything weird. Just keep it loose or whatever."

Yuri's tempted to ask what she knows. Estelle has connected the dots and Rita's more than smart enough to put the two together. He throws his hair into a high, but lazy ponytail surprised to find he feels a little better now that his hair isn't constantly brushing the antennas there's a nice relief.

"You know, Rita, you're a really sweet girl when nobody's looking. You should try being pleasant more often." Her face turns red and she makes him with a pillow.

"I'm always pleasant!" She shouts almost waking the others.

"Sure." He says as Rita turns her back in annoyance. "Good night." She waves him off and crawls to the edge of the bed away from Estelle.

Felinis: Fun fact Yada is apparently a word in the dictionary. I did not know that. Also, the endocrine system which you usually think of in terms of puberty and hormone management does a lot of shit for your body. If the balance got upset you could expect changes in chemical production, metabolism, and body fluids. The endocrine system controls saliva production so it's not hard to imagine Yuri having a problem with dry mouth or drool.