Interlude - Storm


My magic studies proceed slowly. No matter how much I resolve myself, I do still have to push past years of hesitation and discomfort. Thankfully, Arthur is patient, and I think he liked being in a 'teacher' role. Certainly Yuria did, though Seliph's magic studies went just as slow as mine. But we have time. Sort of. At this point, we're just waiting for more information, and all of us are all too aware that this is the calm before the storm. The calm before the next campaign, and the next set of battles. Gods help us all.


One day, I had unexpected free time in the afternoon, and struggled to think of what to do since no one else shared my good fortune. I did consider helping one of my friends with their duties, but then a thought wormed its way into my head, one that was very intriguing given the recent comparisons. But King Od died in Gran 707, give or take. That was a little over seventy years ago. So, it occured to me that the oldest of the civilians… they might know something about him, and learning at least a little about them beyond the common stories… that proved far, far too tempting.

A couple of quick questions around town and I learned I was more than correct. They didn't just have memories of King Od. They had memories of most of the Crusaders. Obviously not of Njorun, though, or her brother. They had died much earlier, in what was called the 'Tragedy of the Gae Bolg'. Uncle Finn had told Oifeye the story, and he had told it to us while also teaching us about what little he knew of the Yied Massacre. If I recalled the books correctly, Njorun died in Gran 679, from suicide after accidentally killing her spouse. Or something. I didn't really know. I didn't really know much about any of the Crusaders besides the common songs and stories. But the elders remembered. And they remembered a great deal.

"King Od would walk through town every morning, no matter the weather," Elder Muir reminisced with a soft and fond smile. We sat in his house, drinking tea that I insisted on preparing. Of course, this was after spending time playing with his grandchildren, who he raised since their parents had been taken to the labor camps, and died there. "And no matter how old he got either. I remember him clearly, hair as white as snow, face lined with wrinkles… sitting in the market to listen to gossip while we children braided flowers in his hair."

"That sounds like fun," I replied, refilling his cup. And I made a mental note to suggest that to the others, since it did sound like fun. "What about the other Crusaders?"

"Hmm… ah, Duchess Fjalar visited often, perhaps because of how close Velthomer is to Yied." According to the maps, and Oifeye, it was the Grannvale duchy closest to the desert. Probably very convenient for Arvis's plan all those years ago. "Even with her hair streaked gray, she was bright and fiery, laughing and dancing. Duke Baldr was similar, helping the children play pranks." He sighed gustily, lost in the memories. "I think our favorite times were when King Ced would come down from Silesse, and play jaunty sounds despite swollen and aching joints. Then there was Duke Neir and his boisterous laughter, carrying children on his shoulders and…" And all the cheer faded, no doubt thinking of Danann and everything he had done to Isaach. "They were good people."

"They sound like it." I took a sip of the tea, a very light herbal mix. He didn't have anything stronger. He barely had anything; people only began moving back into town recently, after all the repairs finally finished. "Shame Danan didn't share that same cheer." The stories I had heard of Uncle Lex, though… it seemed like he had inherited at least some of Neir's… personality, I supposed.

"Yes, many of these past few generations prove that morals are not inherited. They are instilled." He paused and then shook his head, laughing darkly. "No, that's not right. Perhaps the fall of the Holy Blood began at their deaths, when their children took over… or their grandchildren."

"What do you mean?" I frowned, confused by the sudden mood change. "Aideen has told me about how Grannvale relied a lot on political manipulation and whatnot… and I suppose there is the conflict between Thracia and Leonster…"

"No, I don't mean those things. I talk of the Hunts." Absently, he picked up his mug, and I spared a bit of attention to make sure nothing was leaking or anything. His mugs were all chipped and cracked. "The Loptyrian Hunts."

"The… Loptyrian Hunts?" I had actually never heard of those before. Neither Aideen nor Oifeye had mentioned them. "I… uh…" I couldn't even think of a dry joke or anything. "When did those begin?"

"Shortly after the death of the last Crusader, Duke Bragi." He closed his eyes, doing his best to remember. "When the Loptyrian Empire fell, the Loptyrians escaped into the Yied, the one place that could be called 'neutral'. And the Crusaders did not pursue. There was too much to do, and if they didn't fight, then why draw out the conflict?" I could understand that easily. "But others did not share their mentality. The desert people weren't so welcoming, and pushed them into harsh terrain, refused to help."

"That…" I thought of all the preparations we were doing to cross the desert ourselves. Yes, some of it was paranoia, due to how… omnious the desert had always been to us. But I knew not all of it was. "What happened?"

"Eventually, they snapped, and tried to fight back. A paltry attempt, except they did kill one of King Heim's great-grandchildren. A toddler." He smiled bitterly and opened his eyes again. I could only wince. "You can guess from there."

"Yes, I suppose so." The battle here in Rivough showed well how out of control anger could become, especially when fighting against the source of that anger. "So, was it like the Child Hunts?"

"Very similar, yes. At least, in my opinion." He shrugged and sipped his tea. "The Loptyrian Hunts killed any and all who worshiped Loptyr. And for many of them, they had no idea of any other life. They were banned from the sunshine, banned from the fresh breeze. If they came up, they risked being burned alive. The elderly and the young… babes in arms and toddlers… anyone."

"That sounds…" 'Nauseating' was the only word I had. "How was that any better than the Child Hunts? How would that not have…?"

"You had a very good upbringing, Lady Riona. Empathy and the ability to see enemies as humans, even when you fight them. A heavy burden for the heart, but perhaps an important one." He smiled sadly at me. "But for us… for us, they were the monsters in the shadows. The demons who were vanquished and now just dregs." He hesitated a bit before bowing his head. "The burnings were great shows to us, back then."

"...Shows…?" I couldn't have heard right. I could not have heard… "How…?"

"There were picnics. Fathers would settle their children on their shoulders to give them a better view. We cheered at the first flames, and we laughed as they screamed." His hands shook as he picked up his glass. I could only stare in silent horror. "I am ashamed of it now. More so, even, because I lost one of my grandchildren to the Child Hunts. I would've lost another, but you saved her, Lady Riona. You held her in the middle of the battlefield, and then gave her to your twin so that she remained safe."

"...How could anyone celebrate…?" But I trailed off because I got it after a moment. I remembered the glee I had when General Richard died. I had been exhausted. We got distracted quickly. But I remembered, and I remembered writing Creidne at the first opportunity. Eager about it. Not to mention the elation that had followed Danann's death. "No, never mind. They weren't human to you. They were just…"

"Monsters. Not human. Killing them weighed no more heavily on our minds as slaughtering livestock. Less even." He looked up at met my eyes with his old, weary ones. "My lady, this old man has no right to make demands, but I do ask that you remember such things. What we have now, in my opinion, is simply another part of revenge's wheel. Another turn in the cycle."

"...Perhaps we need to break the wheel then." I stood up, taking the words as a dismissal. "I thank you for being so honest with me. I appreciate it greatly."

I left then, my mind churning from what I just heard. Then I jumped a few times to try and get some pep into me again, and with a smile on my face, I strode down the street like nothing was wrong. At least, until I heard thunder rumbling above, and looked up to see purple-gray storm clouds rolling in.

How marvelous, yes? Heavy topics and storms all in the same day. I was so cuddling with Hestia when I got back. Both just sucked.


Oh, it ended up so much worse than I had expected. Sooooo much worse. It was one of those storms where the thunder rattled the windows hard enough to make you sincerely wonder if the glass was going to shatter, and where the lightning was so sharp and bright that you swore it was a god's blade cutting through reality. And it was also one of those all day sort of things, meaning that once it started, it wasn't stopping. If anything, it just got stronger. Basically, my worst nightmare (that didn't involve people dying or being tortured). So, my plan for the evening had been to just… hide under my bed with Hestia or something, but Seliph snagged me before I could figure out how to make a blanket-cocoon there.

"Okay, you were right. This is better than being huddled under the bed with some blankets," I sighed, leaning back against him. After all, his solution to my fear was us sitting on the bed, with me wrapped up in his arms, and a blanket around us both. Maybe a bit warm, but I wouldn't have traded it. "Or in the bathroom. I hadn't decided quite yet."

"I thought you might like it," Seliph laughed, kissing my hair. I worried about how comfortable he was, but he seemed content, at least. "And good excuse to spend time with you."

"Yeah, when I'm-" I yelped and ducked when thunder boomed, rattling the nearby window. "I. Hate. Storms."

"I know." He hugged me a little tighter, and slowly, I relaxed again. I missed the lightning this time. "We're nice and safe, though. And look, it's the first storm after seeing Conall."

"That is true…" Still, my heart ached. I hoped he was okay. I hoped Ishtar was okay. Maybe it was wrong, since they were technically on the enemy side, but… ugh… complicated… "I told you about the conversation I had earlier, right?"

"About the Crusaders? Yep. We'll have a group meeting about ways of incorporating what they did later."

"Okay." Sighing, I glanced at the door warily, expecting it to burst open. "You know; I'm surprised no one else barged in."

"I may have asked to have time alone with you." He chuckled, and rested his chin on my shoulder. "Or, to be more accurate, I hesitated a bit because I wasn't sure what would be best for you, Yuria noticed and brought it up, and then…"

"Everyone else jumped on it so that they can tease us in the morning." Typical. "Well, I'm not complaining. You're very cozy. Almost as much as Hestia."

"Again, I compete with her for your affection. And lose."

"Many lose to Hestia." I leaned back and kissed his cheek. "But you have to admit she is cozy."

"That's true, as we all know very well. It's amazing how easily she comforts us." He looked over to where she was resting by the door, firmly blocking and listening for any potential eavesdroppers. "Ah, but it's getting late. How do you want to do sleeping arrangements?"

"I figured we'd just share the bed. Not like we haven't done that in the past." Especially during a thunderstorm. However, another look at Hestia, and her twitching ears, reminded me of something. "Er… we'll have to try and keep Hestia from jumping onto the bed. She's been bad like that lately."

"Yeah, no, I love her dearly, but no." He looked over at Hestia, who 'ror'ed and titled her head all innocently before settling down again. "Already got to deal with her needing to go outside. In the storm."

"You can just-"

"Nope." He went back to cuddling, and I laughed. "Rather make you laugh, or give you someone to cling to. Like usual."

"Like usual." I smiled softly at him, and tucked myself against his chest. Things like that were why it had taken me so long to realize and acknowledge the feelings I had always had. And that made me very curious about something. "Say, Seliph?"

"Hmm?"

"When did you fall in love with me?"

"Uh…" He leaned back a bit, looking at the ceiling and clearly trying to think. "Honestly, I think I always have. Like, it started as a child's crush, but it never went away? But it was always there, so I grew used to it and kind of became oblivious." Sounded a bit like me, then. We were both so weird. "If I have to pick a time… well, I realized a few years ago."

"A few years ago?" I leaned back to frown at him. "And you never said anything?"

"Got scared. I didn't want to make things awkward, and I was very convinced you didn't feel the same?" He smiled sheepishly. "And I was very wrong."

"Very wrong. I've loved you forever."

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

"Because it was so much a part of me that I didn't think of it anymore and so, needed a little prompting to put it into words." I turned to that I could face him. "My hair is blonde, my eyes are red, the sky is blue, and I love you. Simple, yes?"

"Ah…" And Seliph went delightfully red, blushing bright enough to be used as a lamp. "You seriously just said that."

"I seriously did." I smirked. "So, what are you going to do ab-?" And a crack of thunder make me yelp and I was back to curling up against him, trying to cover my ears. "Ugh… storms and romantic moments don't mix!" I flinched when lightning flickered in the window. "At all!"

"I'm content simply having you in my arms, though I do wish I could take the fear away."

"One, you're being sweet on purpose." I sulked up at him and he grinned. "Two, you like teasing me."

"Yes, when there's not a storm." He kissed my forehead and then my cheeks before kissing me on the mouth. "So, shall we think of silly responses to everyone else's teasing?"

"Yes, that sounds good."

We stayed awake a little longer, trying to anticipate everyone's comments, and then we both went to sleep when we were yawning more thank talking. Hestia did try to climb onto the bed too, but relented when Seliph told her 'no'. He was the first one she woke up when she had to go out, though, as her revenge, but she at least didn't jump into a muddy puddle this time. All in all, it was probably the most rest I had gotten during a storm in a long while. So, maybe they wouldn't be so bad in the future. Maybe. Biiiiig maybe.


The others teased, of course. If they hadn't, I would've been very worried. However, there were other things to focus on, and it wasn't as if there weren't other things to tease about. Like Lester walking straight into a glass window or Arthur getting his hair stuck in a door and trying to hide it while subtly reopening the door. Or Yuria being so focused on her medicinal notes that she walked through some paint and got it all over the floor. Or… well, all of us did silly things. The soldiers laughed and the ones who had been with us for a while even teased us too. I think they had a lovely time watching me try to pull Hestia out of the river because she really wanted a snake. And in the midst of all of that Lewyn finally returned.

"Seems you all did quite the good job here!" Lewyn noted with a laugh, striding in with confidence. Since our scouts told us he was arriving, we made sure Seliph, at least, was free to greet him. Ulster and Larcei had to take over his duties for it. I had volunteered, but then everyone was like "no!" and so, I was here with Seliph. Fee was somewhere behind us, having been one of the scouts who spotted him and, thus, needed to dismount and change, and I thought Arthur was hiding in the shadows. Oifeye, of course, was here as well, and I saw Diarmuid hovering not far away. I thought about sending Hestia to him, but she insisted on staying glued to my legs. "And… Gods above, this can't be Oifeye. Oifeye's all little and scrawny!"

"I wasn't that little or scrawny when you last saw me," Oifeye joked, hugging Lewyn. Lewyn hugged him back, but I thought it looked a little awkward. "You look well, for the most part. I'm glad."

"You look good too." Lewyn grinned. "Ah, but before I forget…" He dug through his pack and produced a letter. "From Finn."

"You talked to him?" Oifeye's entire face lit up with one of the brightest smiles I had ever seen him wear. "He still lives?"

"He does indeed. Doing very well, given everything." Lewyn's eyes scanned over the little group before focusing on Seliph. "Congratulations on Isaach, by the way, Seliph."

"It was thanks to all of us that we prevailed, Lewyn," Seliph replied formally. I caught Diarmuid's eye and we shared a grin; his far more nervous. "I'm glad to hear Finn is doing well. How fares Leonster?"

"Leonster stands… barely," Lewyn replied, becoming serious. Hestia left my side. I wondered why, but decided to keep focused on Lewyn for now. Something was just… bothering me. And she probably just went to support Diarmuid anyway. "It has endured a very long siege from Alster and Friege's forces. A year or even more. Walls are crumbling, and supplies are running low."

"So, we need to assist them as soon as possible."

"Ideally, yes. If Leonster falls, you'll find it that much harder to find a foothold in the peninsula there." Lewyn dug through his pack again, and I frowned. If Leonster fell, many innocent people would die. I would think that more important… though I supposed we did need to think of strategic importance as well… "But that is for later. Here." He produced two more letters, and handed a second one to Oifeye. "That one, Oifeye, is for Shanan. Figured you'd like to hold onto it. And this one…" He passed it to Seliph. "That is from Leif, Seliph. Your cousin."

"It is?" Seliph smiled softly, though his hand trembled. A letter… this was the first bit of correspondence between them. "I'm glad…"

"And then there is these two," Lewyn murmured, pulling out two more letters. He walked over and handed them to Diarmuid. "One is from Finn. He can't wait to meet you as well, and I wish I had the words to describe the smile he had when I told him your message."

"I… I see…" Diarmuid whispered shakily. Seliph immediately went to his side to support him. I almost did the same, but I noticed Oifeye frowning and wondered what was going on. I also noticed Hestia wasn't with Diarmuid. "And the second one?"

"Nanna. Your little sister." Lewyn smiled gently. Diarmuid almost dropped the letters, but Seliph caught his hands. "She was born shortly before Leonster's fall. And she can't wait to meet you at last, Diarmuid."

Unable to figure out what was bothering me, and bothering Oifeye, I decided to look for Hestia to see if she was getting into trouble. And I found her not far away, pressing into Fee's legs, and I finally pieced it all together. Fee was right there. There weren't many of us, and she wasn't hiding. She was in plain sight. Lewyn had to have seen her. And yet, he didn't even glance her way...

Immediately, I went to her side, and pointed to the door. Fee nodded, so I helped her out, Hestia keeping close, and we made it just down the hall and around a corner before she began trembling.

"I… it was him," she whispered. Her eyes wavered with tears. "It was him. I know it was him. But he didn't… he didn't look at me. Didn't acknowledge me. Not even an annoyed look. I was just… I was just there. Just a face in the crowd, and… and…" She hugged herself, knees buckling. I caught and held her, though, kissing her hair and rocking her. Hestia pressed herself into her legs, radiating as much comfort as she could. "Gods, if Hestia hadn't…"

"Hestia is amazingly good at sensing when someone needs comfort." It was another reason why I half-thought she was a gift from my parents. "Offer to punch him is still there."

"So tempted to take you up on it. Another part of me is tempted to punch him myself to see if he would still ignore…" Her voice wavered and cracked. "What did I do? What did I do? Why does he not love me anymore? Why did he leave?"

I had no answers, so I just held her as she shook. She didn't cry, though. Her voice trembled and her eyes shone with tears, but she didn't cry. She just continued whispering questions that only one man knew the answers to, and somehow, I doubted he'd answer anything. Just an ass of a father and his daughter who wondered what had caused the change.

I had no idea how long I held her, but Hestia's ear twitched and I looked up to see Arthur hovering awkwardly nearby, clearly wondering what to do. After a moment, I waved him over and passed Fee to him. She continued shaking, hiding her face in his shoulder, and he hesitantly hugged her, patting her back. I waited a bit, to make sure they would be all right, and then I left, with Hestia staying with Fee to continue giving what comfort she could. And now that I was no longer focused on Fee… well, I had one goal in mind. I was finding Lewyn because I needed to make one thing very clear to him. This sort of behavior… well, it wasn't going to earn him any respect here. If anything, it would earn our anger. And my temper was already burning. In fact, I was so focused on trying to keep calm and not punching something that I almost walked right into Lewyn and Oifeyere and I was only able to hide because they were both too distracted.

"What the hell, Lewyn?" Oifeye demanded. "Do you think we are blind? Dumb? Your own daughter is here and yet, you pretended like she was nothing but a stranger!" Oifeye was mad. Oifeye was super mad. You could tell because every word was terse, like the fury and sharpness of his glare made even his words scared. "And she tells us that you haven't been with your family in five years! Erinys died, Lewyn! She died while you were away, doing whatever!"

"So, this is why you dragged me off?" Lewyn replied. He sounded annoyed, but his face bore no expression. "Save your words, Oifeye. I threw away my family to focus on what needed to be done."

"Did you now? You, of all people?" Oifeye's voice grew louder, even as they remained terse, and he began gesturing sharply. "You, who swore to Erinys on your wedding day that you would stand together? Who was excited about being a father? Who adored people and those you loved so much that you couldn't bear to lead them to war? And who promised to not run away anymore once taking the throne? You?!"

"Yes." Lewyn continued to be expressionless, completely unaffected by it all. Like the uncaring wind that always blew. "So, are you done, Oifeye?"

"...Yes. With you, I am done." Oifeye's expression flattened and then turned to stone. He was beyond furious now. "It seems I must mourn yet another good man, because I don't know the one I am looking at. Only whose face he mimics, and whose legacy he mocks."

"I apologize for the disappointment." Lewyn shrugged, unbothered. I ground my teeth in frustration. "So, this has been a lovely talk and-"

"But let me inform you of something, Lewyn." I never knew Oifeye could speak with such venom. "That mentality? Thinking that you must ignore your family? That won't earn you any respect among this group. It will earn you their anger. Their hatred." Every word was cold, and I could hear the pain in the ice. "Oh, they'll be professional, certainly, but you will find all of your suggestions mocked or met with pointed remarks. You will find yourself the victim of many pranks and accidents, most of which will be caused by Hestia to allow them plausible deniability." The worst part was how quiet he was. He was so angry that he could no longer yell or anything. "And you will find that they will not be as inclined to listen to you, because your morals clearly don't align with theirs. You know nothing about the children I raised, Lewyn. It would do you well to remember that."

Oifeye stormed off, and I winced, remembering just how happy he had been earlier. Except here they were, with Lewyn being completely uncaring. Completely unlike how he had been earlier. And completely unlike… how he had been with Diarmuid...

"It seems I asked a bigger favor, and sacrifice, than I had originally thought…" Lewyn murmured quietly, so softly that I barely heard him. "So, little wolf, how accurate is he?" He turned to look my way, smiling slightly like he'd known I was there the whole time. "How much "You will call me by name or I will set you on fire," I replied coldly, stepping out. I glared at him with all my anger, bristling. "Because like hell do I want to be so familiar with someone like you."

"And that tells me that I am in worse trouble than Oifeye implied." He chuckled, like my anger amused him. Which made it all the worse. I couldn't believe this was the same man my mom called 'friend', and who Aideen, Oifeye, and Shanan had respected. "Reminds me of a saying I once heard. 'Death smiles at all, but the wolf snarls back.'"

"You're not making a good case for listening to you, you know." I crossed my arms and dug my nails into my elbows to minimize the chances of me actually setting him on fire. Might be fun to see if he remained so damn condescending if I burned his hair, but it wouldn't be right. And I had morals. Sadly. "Doesn't matter how helpful you are and can be. It doesn't give you the right to be a jerk. And none of us are killing our hearts for this conflict. I think Jugdral has seen enough of that sort of thing." I shrugged, wishing I could be as cold as Oifeye was. But I couldn't manage it. It took everything I had to not punch him in the damn face. "Regardless, every bit that Oifeye said is true, and if you hurt my Hestia, I will burn you. And then you'll be kicked into the woods and left behind." I drew myself up to my full height, and noticed with amusement that I was taller than him. "Fee is family. We protect our family. And we want people in this army to be comfortable. Seeing you so callous about your own family… it makes me sincerely wonder if we should trust you when our soldiers' lives are on the line."

I stormed off then, at first pleased with the 'last word'. But when I glanced back, I saw he wasn't even looking at me, and so, felt like he let me have the last word because he didn't think replying was worth the effort. That I wasn't worth the effort. Which just pissed me off even more. How condescending could one human be?

"Riona?" I looked up and saw Lester walking towards me. His forlorn expression told me he already knew. "Judging by the look on your face, we should continue keeping Larcei from Lewyn," he noted softly. My only response was to loose a bunch of curses in an attempt to make myself feel better. "Yep. Definitely." He slung an arm around my shoulder and I leaned into him, doing my best to relax. "Come on. No need to deal with the asshole anymore."

"How mad is everyone?" I asked, taking deep breaths. This was just so… "Please tell me… I don't know…"

"Iuchar is the only one not completely pissed off, and even then, he's upset Fee was hurt so badly." Lester's eyes darkened. "Family is important to us, after all. And it's clear that he has chosen to remove Fee from his 'family', so we are mad at the hurt he has inflicted on her. We are mad at the hurt he inflicted on Oifeye. But we'll keep professional. Ish."

"...I suppose the… irrational… feeling of betrayal isn't helping." We had grown up with stories about Lewyn. We knew him as someone Oifeye had respected, who Aideen had befriended. We knew him as someone our parents had considered one of their dearest friends. It led to certain… expectations. Expectations Lewyn completely destroyed. And I supposed it did make some sense. It had been eighteen years, and he was a person who suffered through the Belhalla Massacre, his mother's death, his country's fall, years in exile… "Still, I don't think a hard life is a good excuse to be an asshole." Though, I supposed that could be just because I'd been raised by Oifeye and Aideen, who did their best to be kind, despite their own heartbreak. "Changing the subject, why is it that you came looking for me?"

"Because Ulster and Lana were setting up a prank for his room, Arthur and Yuria are with Fee, and Larcei, Seliph, and Iuchar are all sparring." Lester grinned. "So, what shall we do?"

"No clue." I paused, realizing something. He hadn't mentioned... "So… uh… who has Hestia? Is she still with Fee?"

"Uh…" Lester froze, and I facepalmed. Because that was a 'no'. "...Uh oh."

We eventually found Hestia with Ulster and Lana, leaving half-eaten squirrels under Lewyn's bed. I scolded her… while also giving her pets, in the hopes that she remembered that she really shouldn't do this, but Lewyn was an asshole who deserved it. Was it childish? Probably. Did I care? Not as much as I should. And I was fine with that, for now. You couldn't be a mature leader all the time. I'd learned that.


We all did our very, very best to be polite, respectful, and even dignified in our interactions with Lewyn. Larcei and Arthur avoided him like the plague, not trusting themselves to not snap. Fee decided she wanted nothing to do with him, which was even more painful. None of us really discussed our feelings on him. Some were more confused than others, like Diarmuid who was grateful for the letters and furious over his treatment of Fee. Only Iuchar was ambivalent towards him, no doubt because he didn't hold such strong feelings about 'family'... and because he didn't know Lewyn (or hear stories of Lewyn) before this point, so he didn't feel 'betrayed'. Still, he focused on keeping our moods up, and making us laugh. More importantly, making Fee laugh, because if anyone deserved cheering up, it was her. And so, a few days after Lewyn joined us, Seliph decided that the army needed a day off. So that we had the excuse to spend the day making Fee laugh, but officially (and the only reason Fee was told), it was because we would be marching soon.

I, however, wasn't in the room with everyone. Instead, I was trying to find Yuria. Lana wanted some of their trainees to 'run' the infirmary today, in a more controlled setting, to see how they would do and so that she and Yuria could relax with the rest of us. However, no one seemed to be able to find Yuria. So, since I needed to leave to grab more snacks for us, I decided I'd look for her. Sadly without Hestia, since she kept close to Fee. No matter how much she tried to pretend otherwise, being denied by her father, when she had been looking forward to seeing him again… even if she had acknowledged the possibility, it was still painful.

"Lewyn?" Yuria's voice made me smile, even if her call told me she was with Lewyn. "Lewyn, I know you can hear me," she continued. I followed her voice and leaned against the wall when I saw her and Lewyn facing each other. "You have been avoiding me."

"Is it me or is it the other way around, busy bee that you are?" Lewyn teased. His smile was warm, and made his eyes crinkle or something at the corners. "But I am sorry, Yuria. Did you have something to say to me?"

"Yes." Yuria drew herself up, and held herself much as I had seen Larcei hold herself. "First of all, I wanted to thank you for taking care of me, as I figured out my heritage and am now aware of the dangers involved. And I don't doubt you knew it as well." Her eyes narrowed, though. "However, I am also very cross with you."

"For leaving you alone here?"

"No, of course not. It's one of the best things to happen to me. I have friends and family. People who depend on me, and give me hugs for no reason except they want to." She leaned forward a bit, sulking. "However, you hurt Fee. And I am cross about that."

"...Oh?"

"Yes, because she is important to me." Yuria held her head up just a little higher. "Fee is my friend and… well, she has declared that we're like sisters. She's family, and I have learned here that while family and blood doesn't dictate you and your life, and that those you share blood ties with can make horrible decisions and be horrible people… the family you choose is important and should be protected. The family that welcomes you with open arms, encourages you to speak up and helps you find your footing… you protect them. And Fee is part of that family I choose." She sighed, and wilted, back to being her typical shyer self. "Of course, you are as well, which is probably another reason I am cross. It feels like my family is split and fighting, and I don't like that."

"...Well, this group clearly has been good for you. I think that's the most words you've ever said about your feelings." Lewyn sighed, and I noticed something. He was considerably softer with Yuria. Like he had been with Diarmuid. "That's good. You need to be assertive."

"I am glad you approve." She put her hands on her hips, scowling. "So? Is there an explanation? Oifeye is also hurt by this, and I am also mad about that because Oifeye is very nice and fatherly and kind and I don't like to see him hurting either. But I'll let the others handle dealing with you on his behalf."

"I think they are leaving it to their wolf who leaves her kills in my shoes." He sighed, though, and brought his ponytail over his shoulder to fix the binding. "It's just… well, things are…"

"You're going to say complicated." She frowned, and crossed her arms. "That just means I have to observe you until I figure it out. Like always."

"I look forward to your observations." Lewyn's eyes fell on me, and he wasn't surprised. He had known I was there the entire time. "Ah, Caitriona."

"Hello," I replied, nodding my head. And trying to not laugh when Yuria squeaked. She hadn't noticed me, after all. "I was just looking for Yuria. We're all in my room, resting, and dreadfully missed the sunny warmth of her smile."

"Eek, Riona!" Yuria yelped, blushing. I couldn't hold back my laughter this time. "No need to tease me!"

"Who's teasing? Am I not always truthful?" I skipped over and kissed her cheek before ruffling her hair. "Though I also did leave to get snacks."

"Oh, I'll help!" And she was off in a hurry, no doubt to escape further teasing.

I followed, pointedly ignoring Lewyn… and then I heard him whisper, "heritage? What is she talking about?" Which made me pause, because how could he not know? He knew Deirdre. Yuria… Julia looked just like her. We figured it out within a day, and he had spent five years with her. He had to know. However, he lifted his hand to press it to his mouth, and his sleeve fell to reveal haphazard bandaging. And I thought… I thought I saw black…

"If you're injured, you need to get it treated," I grumbled, reaching over to fix the bandages without even thinking about it. He immediately flinched away, though, and I winced. I should've known better to just reach out like that. "I'm sorry." I held up my hands and moved so that I was standing in front of him and he could see me. "I won't undo much. But that's not going to stay on as it is."

"...Ah, you're right," he murmured. After a moment, he unraveled a little bit of the bandaging. On both wrists. He had them on both wrists. "It's… related to the Massacre."

"Then I am extra sorry." Deciding that he had unraveled the bandaging as far as he felt comfortable, I did my best to tighten them with so little 'wiggle room'. This time, I thought I smelled something off. "You should see Yuria about this. It might be infected, and infection is bad. You know; in case you forgot."

"I think you're just smelling the medicine I use." He watched me closely, likely making sure I didn't undo more. "My, my. Considering our last conversation, I am surprised by how cordial you are being."

"Being helpful and having good intentions is no reason to be a jerk. However, it also means that anger is no excuse in hurting an ally, nor is it an excuse to trod on someone's trauma." I kept most of my focus on the bandaging, wishing he'd just let me do the full thing. But this was what he was comfortable with, so this was what I worked with. "And just because you accidentally hurt someone, or pressed on old scars, doesn't mean you shouldn't apologize. And wounded is wounded. Even if you're a jerk and I'm mad, I don't want you to hurt."

"You might need to communicate that to your wolf. I swear she almost bit my fingers off."

"I will do what I can, but Hestia is a wolf. I don't own her. If anything, she owns me." I finished with one wrist, and moved to fix the other. Again, the smell was off. Infection… or necrosis… that's what I associated that smell with. "Also, we have way better smelling medicines. She might have just been trying to bite off the bad smell. If it's bothering me, imagine what it's like for her."

"It might have also been the food I was eating, now that I think about it."

"Don't taunt the wolf with food. She is fully capable of crushing your arm off." I finished tying the bandage and stepped back. "And there. Any of us…" I paused, thinking. "Any of us save Larcei will be willing to fix the bandages for you again. Larcei might, but she's especially pissed off at you for… personal reason." Her heart was still keening over Aunt Ayra and Uncle Lex. To see a reunion like… well, it just hit nerves. Which was honestly another reason why we were pissed off. "But I'm going to catch up with Yuria now."

"Thank you, Caitriona." He bowed his head slightly, and studied me closely. And something about his eyes seemed so old suddenly. "I will remember if I need the assistance again."

"Of course." And I was off again, wondering about those strange things I had seen. But then I shrugged and decided to simply leave it to Yuria. Knowing my luck, I'd awkwardly eavesdrop again before long anyway.


Yuria and I returned to my room with the promised snacks, and we spent some time just laughing and teasing one another. With a focus on Fee, though we did our best to spread it around so that it wasn't obvious. I think she still saw through our attempts, but she laughed so much that I didn't think she minded at all. Particularly when it was decided that Seliph and Diarmuid read their letters aloud. Which… probably wasn't a good idea, but it was only later that we thought it might be a violation of privacy or anything.

"Father's letter to me is fairly short, with lots of bits crossed out," Diarmuid explained, showing the letter. And he was right. More than half the page was filled with crossed out words. "And an apology for how messy it is."

"'I know I should try to use another sheet of paper, but there are already so many discarded around me'," Lana read, leaning on Diarmuid's back to read it over his shoulder. She hugged him around the neck and kept on reading. "'No, I won't say the number, for fear you might lose any respect you have for me.'"

"As if a mess would do that. I mean; it can't be worse than Larcei's room."

"True."

"Hey!" Larcei yelped, throwing a pillow at them both before going back to braiding Yuria's hair. Diarmuid caught it and tossed it over to Lester, who promptly tucked it behind his back and leaned more against the wall before resuming his talk with Iuchar about tactics. "Don't be mean!"

"Is it mean when he's telling the truth?" Ulster deadpanned, not even glancing at her. Instead, he and Arthur were playing cards, so he was focused on that. "What else does it say, Diarmuid?"

"From there, it simply talks about how he can't wait to meet me either… and how he's wanted to ever since Mother wrote to him about me," Diarmuid explained shyly, with a bright smile. I knew, in the days ahead, there would be lots of talks about how guilty he felt, especially so soon after we had Aunt Ayra and Uncle Lex's fates confirmed and because of how Lewyn was acting towards Fee. But for today, we would be happy and celebrate properly. "It ends a bit awkwardly, like he didn't know what else to say. But he did write that he loves me, so…"

"Sounds amazing." Ulster spared a smile for him. "Watch, though. You're going to trip over your own feet when you meet him."

"I will not!"

"Now I want to arrange that you do!" Larcei grumbled, but with a hint of a smile. She was having fun. "Be great! But whatever. Seliph, you awake? I want to hear about your cousin now!"

"Of course I'm awake," Seliph replied, frowning slightly. His eyes weren't even closed; I was brushing and braiding his hair while both of us chatted with Fee, who was curled up with Hestia. Hestia, after all, refused to leave her side. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Lost in la-la land because your lover is running her hands through your hair?"

"Which… she's done since we were itty-bitty-little?" He rolled his eyes and produced the letter, though. "Leif focuses on the situation at Leonster, so I'm afraid it's not an entirely happy letter. But he does talk about how he looks forward to meeting me, especially since we're cousins."

"Seriously?"

"Yep." He looked down at the letter, smiling. "He mentions there is a lot he wants to talk about, but he specifically wants to save it until we're face to face so that we can go back and forth."

"Boring."

"Hey, leave my little cousin alone!" Seliph grinned, though. "So, Diarmuid? Nanna's letter?"

"Can't believe you have a sister!" Larcei turned her attention right back to Diarmuid, who had already pulled out the letter from Nanna. "Make sure you don't learn how to be a big brother from this lot. You've got some practice with Lana, so build off that. And especially don't follow Ulster's example."

"You should follow Seliph's?" Yuria suggest with a happy, shy smile. She was careful to not move, though, to avoid messing up the complicated braids Larcei was putting in her hair. "I think he's a wonderful big brother, at least." And Seliph blushed in pleased embarrassment, smiling shyly at her. "So…"

"When we meet him, you can also follow Ced's example!" Fee added, laughing. Her hands were clinging to Hestia's fur, though, and Hestia licked her cheek. "He's seriously amazing. And I'm sure we'll meet him soon." Meaning we'd have… another awkward reunion… well, hopefully, someone could warn him. "Soooo…!"

"Though really, Diarmuid, you're already wonderful, so I think you'll be just fine as you are."

"She's right about that. Be yourself first and foremost!"

"Ah, but that leads me to a thought…" Seliph began slowly. He looked at Fee, shifting even to face her, and I simply set the brush down to pet Hestia. "I know this is fun and we're supposed to be on break… despite what Lester and Iuchar think." Lester and Iuchar grinned at the rest of us before resuming their talks. "Lewyn's ability to hear things on the wind. That will be helpful for the scouts. However…" However, that was part of Fee's job.

"I…" Fee began. However, she paused, and closed her eyes to think. All of us fell silent, waiting for her. "I think… I will be fine. But I might need someone else to talk to him."

"I'll handle that part," Ulster volunteered easily. He left the game temporarily to ruffle her hair before returning. "It'll be fine."

"Oh, good. And I'll be sure to say something if it's going worse." Still, Fee hesitantly glanced over at Arthur, who shrugged. They must've talked about it. "So… um… Nanna?"

"Ah, yes, Nanna's letter!" Diarmuid laughed, easily helping with the subject change. Lana left Diarmuid to curl up next to Fee. "Hers is very rambly and it talks a lot about what she looks like and things she likes… dislikes… funny stories…" Diarmuid held up the letter… which was at least four pages. Front and back. "It's really great, actually. Let me find a particularly funny one… it dealt with someone named Orsin and another person named Mareeta…"

We did our best to keep the mood up, to the point of separating Lester and Iuchar so that even they stopped talking of serious thinks. After all, this might be the last time in a long while that we could afford a day off. We might as well make the most of it.


Author's notes: Lewyn returns, and… well… Lewyn is much more serious and harsh in Gen2 compared to Gen1. And that's all I'm saying on him for the time being. Fee being elated and then heartbroken by Lewyn ignoring her comes from the Game-Chapter 10 talk. While the game glosses over it, because technological limitations, I felt like it would be out of character for Oifeye to not confront Lewyn over it (or, at least, how I have characterized Oifeye). And the others being angry… well, saying "I threw away my family for the goal" to a group of people who a) value family HIGHLY and are very affectionate and b) miss their parents greatly? Noooot the best of ideas.

There's no letters or anything in-game, but I thought that would be a fun little touch. Based on his conversation with Oifeye, Diarmuid learns of Nanna during the interlude between Game-Chapter 6 and Game-Chapter 7. So, here's how!

Now, for that opening scene, I wanted to highlight the Loptyrian Hunts again, since they play such a huge part in so many things, and I wanted to show that this conflict still isn't black and white and whatever, even when you have irredeemable villains like Manfroy. (Though you do have some on the enemy side who ARE just plain evil.) The description of how much of a 'party' the burnings were comes from descriptions of executions during the French Revolution/Reign of Terror. I also wanted to give an explanation for why the Loptyrian Hunts started, especially given my characterization of the Crusaders in Memoirs of the Crusaders.

Next Chapter - Phantoms (Game-Chapter 7 start)