Title: The Grips of Insanity
Pairings: Fafnir/Flavio
Prompt: 12. Insanity
Words: 840
AN: A quick drabble today. Need to get some of these done before I get my hands on 7th Dragon III because I probably won't be writing anything until I'm done with that game :3 Anyway, enjoy!
Flavio felt winded as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He was in the labyrinth, somewhere in the first stratum. And his chest hurt. He felt as though he had been punched.
With a frown making its way across his lips, Flavio looked down to inspect his armour. Immediately, he noticed that there was a large dint in his armour, indicating that he had indeed been struck in the chest by something. His chest plate, however, had taken the majority of the impact. But what was he hit by?
"Sir Fafnir, please! The battle is over now!"
Snapping his head up upon hearing desperation and panic in Arianna's voice, Flavio's gaze immediately fell upon Fafnir. And he felt slightly nauseous.
In his Fafnir Knight Form, Fafnir stood in the middle of the medium sized clearing, his back to them and breathing heavily from physical exertion. And around him lay the bloody remains of several monsters. All of them unmoving. All of them dead.
What had happened…?
"I-I can't use Displace," Chloe murmured from behind Bertrand. "I can't get close enough."
…Displace? Removal of a status ailment?
Oh, right. Flavio remembered now. They were on the fifth floor and had been surprised by a ragelope. The ragelope itself had been irritated by a vampire bat. They had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The horse-sounding deer immediately lashed out at them, using baffling step. And, of course, other monsters decided to throw themselves into the fray after hearing the distressed sounds the ragelope was creating.
They were essentially ambushed. And surrounded.
Flavio had been the first to suffer a physical attack. Right in front of Fafnir. And then he must have been…
"He's lost in his own confusion," Bertrand explained as he kept his shield raised just in case Fafnir did the unpredictable (and, quite frankly, unimaginable in Flavio's opinion), and sent an attack in their direction. "We'll just have to wait until he clears it on his own."
Poor Fafnir. Flavio needed to pull him out of his nightmares. Quickly.
"Where is he?" Fafnir all but howled in a frustrated manner.
"W-who?" Arianna questioned with a fearful tremble in her voice.
Flavio, however, knew who he was looking for. Fafnir was looking for him. He had been struck by an attack just before Fafnir was stunned into confusion. In his mind, the monsters must have hurt him more than reality, and he was looking for him.
"Don't worry," Flavio said as he pushed himself to his feet and started his way toward Fafnir. "I'll take care of this. Just stay back."
"N-no!" Arianna exclaimed in obvious fear as she stepped in front of him, trying desperately to stop him from continuing. "It's too dangerous."
But Flavio gently pushed her aside and continued walking, ignoring the shouts and pleas for him to be careful.
There was no need to be scared. No matter what state of mind Fafnir was in. No matter how angry or upset. Fafnir would never do anything to hurt him. So there was no reason for him to feel even the slightest hint of fear.
None.
Walking slowly and calmly toward Fafnir, Flavio took a moment to take in the sight of him. The muscles in his arms, shoulders, and neck were all taut and strained. His chest heaved as he breathed heavily, growling ever so slightly under his breath as he stared at the unseen monsters before him. His eyes were narrowed, his teeth bared. He looked absolutely vicious.
The sight of him broke Flavio's heart. Fafnir was powerful, not vicious. He was dangerous to possible threats. And only threats to their lives.
That damn Fafnir Knight Curse. How dare it cause Fafnir so much pain and suffering.
Bypassing his outstretched arms that were tense for battle, Flavio wrapped his arms around Fafnir's neck and rested comfortably against his chest. Fafnir's breathing immediately evened out and he could feel the tension drain from his body. His mind might be filled with confusion because of the spell, but his body responded to Flavio's presence immediately.
Flavio tilted his head to the side slightly to whisper into Fafnir's ear. "I'm here, Fafnir. I'm fine."
Immediately, Fafnir's arms enclosed around him. Embracing him tightly as he held onto him for dear life. The tension drained further still when Fafnir shifted from his Fafnir Knight Form and back to his normal self. It was a relief, to be honest.
"Flavio?" Fafnir muttered, his voice hoarse. "You're all right?"
"I'm fine," Flavio said again as he leaned back slightly and placed a chaste kiss to Fafnir's cheek, reassuring him further. "We all are."
"What happened?"
Flavio kept his arms around Fafnir's neck as he glanced over at the array of monster carcases in varies places around the area. They had been slaughtered. Quickly and efficiently.
"You just protected us from a monster ambush," Flavio said simply. "That's all. Nothing to worry about."
Fafnir breathed a sigh of relief. "…Ah, good."
Yeah, absolutely nothing to worry about.
