AN: All credit and rights of the characters belong to Intelligent Systems and Nintendo
"And that's the last one," Yuri checked over the list that he'd been given by Aelfric, the man certainly was keeping a tight ship on the Abyss, but he supposed that was more a thank you from Aelfric to Wilford for keeping the man on at the church after his exile. Yuri had yet to get a direct answer on why Wilford was being so kind to Aelfric, but he knew it was going to be something he needed to find out. Lady Rhea was expecting it from him, and he'd been working hard at getting close to the exiled monk.
Setting aside the scroll, the purple haired young man leaned against the wall rested some. It had been a while since he'd been sent down to the Abyss, and in that time, he'd been able to establish something of his own fiefdom of some sort. His rogues had become his eyes and ears, not only in the Abyss, but in the monastery and the village, and sometimes beyond. Yuri had made friends with his fellow outcasts, which was something he had not expected at all when he'd first agreed to being a spy for Rhea.
He'd gone to the Abyss a few months before turning nineteen, and the second oldest member, he said that ironically as they had both come to the Abyss in the same year, but for vastly different reasons, was Constance von Nuvelle, a noble daughter of the fallen House Nuvelle of the Empire. The young woman had been, in a strange way, cursed. In the sun, she became a meek, groveling person who held extreme self-doubt in the dark, so bursting with confidence, it was almost scary. Almost. She had plans to restore her family's fallen house, and Wilford had given his word that he would do his best to help her alleviate her issue so that she could achieve her goal.
The next two that he had met had been Balthus and Hapi. Balthus von Albrecht, son of Lord von Albrecht, and self-proclaimed "King of Grappling". Balthus had been down in Abyss the shortest amount of time, landing there when he was the ripe old age of twenty-seven, after staying with Wilford since he was twenty-three, and the man couldn't protect him anymore from the many bounties on his head. Previously he had been hiding at House Ordelia, who was keeping him safe, until threats were leveled upon the noble family and he booked it to protect them, just as he'd run away from home to keep his father and stepbrother safe from his step-mother. Balthus was high on fighting skills, but not so bright when it came to most of anything else. Oh, he wasn't stupid, far from it, but Yuri knew he was the type to get manipulated easily. It was how he'd ranked up all his gambling debts.
Then there was the newest member, Hapi, a young woman from a village in the mountains. Wilford had brought her down in a hurry, explaining to the young rogue that when she sighed, this red-haired wonder could call upon monsters. She'd been experimented on, and he was working to correct the issue, though the priest had not understood how to do so as of yet. Yet, he was determined to help the girl and make her life easier. Hapi had taken on the habit of calling him Yuri-bird, after finding out his alias Savage Mockingbird, and Yuri had learned that the girl enjoyed coming up with nicknames for those she was close to. Wilford was the only one from the Church she trusted at all.
Wilford was, to Yuri, a hard man to figure out. Not that his personality was hard to understand, far from it. He was a jovial soul who believed in the good of all people. When Yuri had asked if he could build his own unit of rogues, Wilford happily agreed, pointing out men who turned out to be extremely useful to him. When asked why he would trust him with such people, (after all he could just turn around and use them on Wilford and the church), the old red head simply supposed that he believed in the good in Yuri, and he was sure that he would use his new men for what was right. The last two people that Yuri had ever met that held that same belief were the old man that had taught him until he'd passed on, and his mother's childhood friend whom he'd met a few times before her own passing.
What bothered Yuri about Wilford was that he honestly believed he could change things from the inside. Change people with actions and words. He was the middle son of a minor lord in the Holy Kingdom. His family coming from a farming village, where they had been farmers themselves according to the information he'd found about the Priest. The family had earned the praise of King Lambert's great–great–great–great–grandfather, of who had given them their title after the family had spent time during a famine to make sure that others had enough food to eat rather than hording their supplies. Rather than build a huge house, they expanded upon their old one, and created areas in the home for community get-togethers and other events. Wilford's family was devout to the Church, and they had even a chapel built in honor of Saint Cethleann on their grounds.
So it was no surprise that Wilford, when he was a young man, had decided he wanted to devote his life to the Church of Seiros and help others. This was what bothered Yuri. He was the perfect sap to screw with, and yet he refused to protect himself by being at all cynical about any person. That was why he wanted to find out what the hell was going on down there and had taken his role seriously. The problem, though, was that he'd found himself stuck in a bit of a rock and a hard place as of late with his job. Abyss had been opened ages before, a place for those too shady to live on the surface anymore could go, or those who wanted to worship other gods could do so in peace. Wilford had taken up the role of caretaker from the priest, who had formerly had the job, as he had done so before with his mentor. Wilford seemed to want Aelfric to continue the tradition, but something about the guy bugged Yuri.
Aelfric had formerly been a cardinal of the church and a close confidant of Lady Rhea, but had been exiled from the Church of Seiros for a crime that even Wilford refused to speak of. Yet the man cared deeply about the former cardinal and had begged Lady Rhea to allow the younger man to live in Abyss as penance for his crime, and, in time, Wilford was hoping to get Aelfric to reform and repent for his actions, hopeful that he could sway the other elite members to allow the man to return to the church, even at a low level.
Aelfric was genuinely liked by the people of Abyss and his activities had actually benefited the people in the underground town. He'd become a friend to Yuri and trusted him with his desires. The issue was that there was something off about Aelfric that he couldn't bring up to the others. Each had become close to the former cardinal, as did most of the residents of Abyss. Aelfric had helped Wilford clean up the underground city, put together laws, fifteen years ago, and even get the church to consider the possibility of allowing the Ashen Wolves the chance to become an official house. While it was Aelfric who had conceived of the Ashen Wolves, it was Wilford who had got the house up and running and approved by the Church. Yet Aelfric received all the credit for it, while Wilford simply let it happen. Yuri never felt it was fair, but the man had waved it off saying that, as long as it keeps them safe and one step to connecting the underground with the surface, he had no need of praise or credit.
Yuri sighed to himself as he saw some dust float up from his breath and he watched it. "So long as the people are secure and happy."
Loud footsteps made him turn and glance at the door as Balthus's figure poked his head in. "Hey Boss, Wilford's looking for you. Says he wants us to meet him in the classroom?"
Yuri waved his hand. "Yeah, tell him I'm coming. Just finished the checklist for Aelfric."
"He's got you doing his work now, too?" laughed Balthus as the two men walked side by side back up towards the Ashen Wolves' classroom and through the underground town. Yuri smirked. Balthus was taller by a good foot than Yuri, and far more muscular than the younger man ever thought he could get. While Yuri was like a wire tightly wound and ready to spring, Balthus was a wall, hard to push over.
"Not a chance. I just finished a bit off. No big deal, beside its more for Wilford than for Aelfric."
"If you say so." Balthus shrugged as they turned a corner and went down a dimly lit street were lined with stalls with goods from all over the place, including banned items from other countries. Worshipers were saying their prayers at the pagan altar, and kids ran past to play on the bridge.
"Hey you guys, don't go crawling up on the edge over there." Yuri warned them and smirked. "The last kid that stood there had a tentacle come up from the dark and yank them down to their doom."
One of the younger boys stopped crawling on the railing of the bridge and quickly got down while a girl called out to him. "Yuri, you're mean!"
He laughed, "And proud of it."
Yuri stopped when he heard Balthus chuckle, and he raised an eyebrow.
"What? Something funny?"
"Nah, just that I didn't figure you to be good with kids."
"That's being good with kids? Scaring them?" His eyes went wide some, and he laughed hard. "Balthus, you are a weirdo, you know that."
"No, I mean it, Pal," the older man told him and Yuri listened as his friend grinned to him. "You don't talk down to them and treat them as equals. You're using spooky things to keep them safe, but I think they enjoy those stories."
"Huh, when you put it that way…" He pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "Nah. Me a dad, not a chance."
"Never say never. My old man didn't think he would be. And look what he made?"
"An outlaw?" Yuri teased Balthus, who snorted and Yuri ducked a swing.
"Would you two stop playing around outside? We have a guest coming and I won't be seen as being crude and un-refined when they arrive. After all, first impressions are the most important thing when meeting a new person, and I will not stand for any foolishness from the fool." The blonde girl stepped from the classroom door and stared at them. "Or you Yuri."
"Hey who are you calling un-refined Constance?" Balthus commented as he dusted himself off and Yuri smirked at the girl as the red-haired Hapi joined them.
"Apparently you, B. Wilford, sent word he'd be down here in a few. We thought you two could help us make the room look a bit more. I don't know, clean." She glanced at Yuri. "Did you hear anything about a new student coming to join us, Yuri-bird?"
Yuri shook his head. "No, honestly I didn't. Wilford was just randomly called back up, according to Aelfric."
"So Willie got pulled up by the Archbishop. Wonder who this kid is?"
"Hopefully someone interesting," Yuri chuckled as he walked into the room. "Well, come on, let's gussy this place up for the newbie."
It wasn't long before the Ashen Wolves' classroom was neat and tidy, or as neat and tidy as they could make it, given all the remains of items that had long been stored in what had been a storage room. Yuri dusted his hands off as he examined his handy work. "There, everything in its place. What do you guys think?"
"Looks good to me, 'course I'm not one for fancy." Balthus intoned as he sat on a bench. Hapi leaned lightly on the board and nodded.
"At least it's presentable."
"And Constance, since you were the one that insisted that we tidy up?" Yuri glanced at her. The blonde girl ran her finger over a desk, rubbed it against her thumb and then examined it. "Well? How does the Lady like the work?"
"The lady approves. This is the finest work that we have done, and that was certainly thanks to my supervision. Alas, I cannot simply take all the credit for this work, but I am certain that Wilford will be highly pleased upon seeing how masterfully we have put together our house." She beamed at them and Yuri sniggered lightly.
"Sure Constance," he bowed, "We thank you for your kind words."
"Kind words indeed," Wilford's voice echoed as Yuri stood up and the older man walked into the room. His white and gold robes brushed the floor as he walked in, a smile upon his aging face. The gray in his hair glimmered in the candlelight, and his eyes twinkled happily. He gazed around. "Such a fine job you all did. I'm thrilled to see you care this much about your classroom."
"Well, it is our House room too, and we can't simply have it treated as one would a tavern." Constance commented, and Wilford nodded.
"And thank you Constance for doing a good job in, uh, helping to organize this."
"It was my pleasure. A noble lady's job is to keep her house in order, no?"
"Very correct of you," Wilford chuckled kindly. Hapi moved forward and studied him nervously.
"So who's the new student, FieFie? Or are they not coming?"
"No, they were right behind me," the priest observed over his shoulder and blinked. "Oh dear, one moment." He turned back around and stepped out of the room and seemed to be quietly talking to someone, and eventually, he pulled a girl into the room. She was dressed in an Officers' academy uniform, and glanced around the room as if trying to get a good idea of what she had stepped into.
Yuri held in a gasp as he stared at the purple hair and purple eyes. Even older, he would recognize those features anywhere. That hair. Those eyes. There is no way… It can't be? She looked exactly like the girl his mother's friend took in.
But if she's here, where is her twin? He was wondering, not realizing his eyes were wide, until Hapi nudged him.
"Hey Yuri-bird, don't stare like that." She whispered to him. He took a breath, nodded, and whispered back.
"Thanks Hapi." He tried to keep his mind from going over the many scenarios that could have brought her there, and focused on Wilford.
"May I introduce your new housemate? This is Shez, and she will stay with us for the time being, and I hope you make her welcomed here." The older man gently urged Shez forward, and she considered at the group.
"Uh… Hey, I'm Shez. Former mercenary under Captain Berling, and now, I suppose your… class… mate?"
Yuri held in a chuckle. Oh, she was the same as he remembered. She was always the more nervous of the two, at least when it came to meeting new people; but the one that had an easier time making friends. Constance was the first to talk to her with a smile.
"Greetings, Shez. I am Constance von Nuvelle, of House Nuvelle. As a mercenary, I am sure you have heard of my House, one of the grandest in the Adrestian Empire? It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"I think, maybe. I wasn't one for knowing who was exactly hiring us. Or rather, with nobles, which was more on my late boss to discuss things like payment with them. So I never got to meet a lot of them, especially with the Empire." The girl cupped her cheek and seemed sympathetic. "I think I heard somewhere your house fell?"
"That is correct, but I assure you, I will make sure it rises gloriously from the ashes. Tis but an easy feat for a magic user such as I," Constance laughed and Shez gently stepped back some.
"Yeah, sure. Okay. Uh… good luck with that, then."
"Don't worry too much about Coco, she can be a bit much to get used to, but once you do she's a really loyal friend," Hapi approached her next and held out her hand, "I'm Hapi by the way. Nice to meet you."
Shez had taken her hand and smiled brightly. "Nice to meet you too, Hapi."
"Hmmm," the redhead stared at the purple-haired mercenary for a moment, and Shez blinked.
"Do I have something on my face?"
"No, just thinking. You remind me of the sun. So Sunshine, or Sunny. One or the other."
Shez raised an eyebrow, "Uh huh, sure."
Balthus let out a laugh and grinned at the girl as he spoke. "Hapi has a habit of giving people nicknames when she likes them. I take it you made an impression on her, so Sunshine." He stood before the shorter young woman and put a hand on his hip, "I'm Balthus von Albrecht, and did you say former Captain Berlings?"
"Did you know her?" Shez nodded as she looked up at Balthus and he grinned and laughed.
"Yup, she used to work for my old man a while back when I was first in the Academy," he was saying when Shez cut in with–"First at the Academy, this isn't your first time? Did you flunk out or something?"–causing Yuri to laugh into his hand and turn it into a cough as Balthus acted sheepish and shook his head. "Nah, I graduated, but uh… kinda ran into some trouble over the years, so I found my way into the Abyss. It's where those come when they can't be in the light."
"I see, so then you're not a student?" She remarked, and Balthus shrugged. "I mean, you're old enough to be a teacher."
He laughed again. "Oh, I like this one. Maybe you and I can get a drink late…" he winced suddenly when Yuri deftly stepped on his foot, putting pressure on the top with his heel.
"Hold on with those drinks, Balthus. I'm sure Shez wants to get used to being down here." Yuri moved forward. Why was he nervous like this? Oh, he knew, she could easily blow up everything he was working on. It was dangerous just by her being there. He held out his hand to her and gave her a charming smile. "Yuri Leclerc, head of the Ashen Wolves' house. But you can just call me Yuri. You'll want to remember that."
He waited and then caught his breath when he saw recognition in her eyes. This was not good, not good at all. He was going to have to talk to her in private.
"Nice to meet you Yuri," she squeezed his hand tightly. He knew that grip. It was the 'what are you doing here and what is with the name?' grip that she would do when they met after a long time apart. "I'm Shez."
"Nice grip you got there, Shez." Yuri grinned at her and tightened his. They stood there for a bit, putting pressure on the other's hand, until she pulled back and flexed her fingers some.
"Well, now that you've all been introduced, I'll take my leave. I'm sure you all would like to get to know one another, and I have some people to check on. So I'll be seeing you later." Wilford bowed to them and smiled as he took his leave of the room.
Yuri watched him go and then tilted his head when Shez asked. "He seems like a decent guy."
"He is, Wilford is the latest caretaker of Abyss." Balthus commented as he came over to them and Shez glanced at the group again. "He give you the rundown of what Abyss is?"
"Somewhat, yes. It's a place where people who can't stay on the surface go to," Shez replied and then added. "According to Wilford, it's been here for a long time, and the Ashen Wolves House is only fifteen years old. That most here are folks that just don't have any luck and that they're overall good, but need some help to get by."
"Sums it up, yeah," Hapi intoned and watched at her curiously, "So what brings you here, Sunny?"
"Eh? Well, not really sure. I guess Lady Rhea assumed because I don't really have an allegiance to any one country that it would be better to put me here." Shez shrugged and Yuri crossed his arms. She'd never been good at lying, and he could tell easily that she wasn't telling the truth.
"Okay, so no allegiance to any country. That makes sense for a mercenary," Balthus nodded.
"But if that is the case, how did you ever come to the monastery in the first place? Most that come here are here to study to become a fighter, but you…" Constance seemed to concentrate as she scrutinized Shez, "You seem to be here because of some… ah, great windfall of wealth."
Shez chuckled, "If that was the case, I would be long gone from this life." She shook her head and let out a long sigh. "No, I was actually looking for a way to get stronger. A band of mercenaries killed my captain; Jeralt is their leader. So I want to settle the score with the one that killed her," Shez told the blonde noble. "And I've decided to get stronger so I can avenge them."
Shez rubbed her neck. "But how I got here? I happened upon some students that had gotten into a fight with a few bandits and helped them out. The commander of the Knights of Seiros saw it happen and asked me to come with him here for payment, and it seems my payment was to attend this school for a year."
"Well, if getting stronger is what you're looking for, Heh," Balthus grinned, "Look no farther than the king of grappling himself." The man flexed and grinned at her. "I can get you into shape to take on the biggest monsters."
Shez grinned, "Hey if you can get me to be a human shield, I'd be really grateful."
Yuri muttered the name over, "Jeralt… Jeralt…." His eyes went wide. "Ah, now I remember. You mean Jeralt the Blade Breaker?"
"The same." She turned to face him.
"I'm surprised you came out in one piece." He gazed at her, concerned, and Hapi glanced at him.
"Something up with this guy, Yuri-bird?"
He nodded slowly and seemed contemplative. "Jeralt Eisner was a member of the Church's Knights of Seiros, one of the best they ever had as a captain. Then, after a huge fire here around twenty-one years ago, he ups and vanishes." Yuri explained to the group. "There are rumors he had a falling out with Lady Rhea, or that he set the fire to cover the theft of some ancient artifact. But without solid proof, it's just that, a rumor."
"Yeah, isn't he known as the blade breaker? Holst and I used to read about his exploits when we were kids." Balthus told the others and Shez sat down on a bench.
"Well, that's great and all, but that's not who I have to fight. It's the woman that travels with him, supposedly his daughter. She's known as the Ashen Demon."
Hapi shuddered some, "When I was younger, after I escaped, I heard stories at the church I was staying at from travelers who talked about some insane fighter who was called that. They said that they were invincible."
"And you're saying that the Ashen Demon is the child of Jeralt Eisner?" Yuri asked her and she nodded. He smirked some. "Now, isn't that interesting?"
Shez eyed him carefully and then regarded Hapi, "What do you mean by you escaped?"
"Long story. Maybe I'll tell you some other time. Maybe." The girl assumed and stretched. "Loved the chatting, but Coco and I have to go see if the market has enough for dinner tonight." She faced Balthus. "It's your turn to cook tonight, B."
"Heh. Then Shez is in for a feast. I'll come with you girls and help you carry what we need. We're eating for five now." The black-haired man chuckled and glanced at Yuri. "You coming along with Shez?"
Yuri shook his head. "Nah, you got this. Besides, I don't want to know what the burnt remains of dinner are going to be. That would make me sad."
"Hey! I can cook, you know." Balthus shook his head.
"So where then are you headed, Yuri?" Constance asked curiously. She glanced to Shez, "And is there anything you would like?"
"As long as it's not rat, I'll be good."
Constance made a face, "Do… Do you think we would serve you rat! Never! Such vermin are best left to their own devices. I can assure you, you will eat a feast fit for a king! With my deft hand you will be eating like the Emperor himself."
"Save that energy for the actual cooking, yeah, would you Constance." Balthus chuckled and eyed Shez. "Stick with the Boss, okay? This place is a maze, and till you get used to it, it's better to go around with someone who knows the ins and outs." He sighed, "Trust me, I can't count how many times I got lost in this place."
"And I can't count how many times I've had to locate you, so we're even." Yuri told him. He looked at the girls. "I'm gonna give her a tour of Abyss. When we're done, we'll head for the dining hall and meet you there."
The others nodded and bid them a farewell. Once gone, Shez stood up and Yuri faced her, a charming smile on his face. "So, shall we take a walk then, Shez?"
The girl did not return his grin, and he sighed, "Oh, I know that look. That look always got to me. Okay, fine, what's on your mind, Beatrice?"
He saw her take a shaky breath. "So this is where you've been, Reg? All this time? Ben and I were worried about you after we heard from some Mercs that you got into trouble with the Church."
Yuri scowled. "It's Yuri down here, not Reg, and don't go saying that name out loud, understand?" His eyes flashed dangerously at her. "I thought I told you back when we met before I went to the Academy that Count Rowe had my name changed. So use it, okay?"
"As long as you use Shez, not Beatrice." She shot back, and he nodded slowly. Shez looked at him with a worried glance, and Yuri bit his lip. Why was she like this? Why did that look from her bug him like this? It always had, even when they were kids. He didn't enjoy making either of them have that worried look in their eyes.
"Sorry I didn't write to you, but I did not know where you were. And you probably couldn't have responded even if you wanted to." He motioned to her, "Come on, I'll give you a tour and we can talk."
Yuri walked, then gazed her. "It is nice to see you. I'm not kidding when I say that."
She smiled some and nodded. "Yeah, I'm glad to see you okay too, Yuri."
Following along after him, Shez was led around the maze of passages in the Abyss, and Yuri showed her around the area, warning her of various places and where not to go alone. He also clarified that the people down there were not as bad as some might think and that there was a lot of thriving life in the underground. The purple-haired boy watched her as the former mercenary stared curiously at the different locations.
"Fortune teller is in there," he revealed as they passed the way finder, he lowered his voice. "Honestly, I don't buy the whole thing, but a lot of girls seem to really get into her services."
"Let me guess; a lot come to see if you're the one for them?" Shez rolled her eyes, and he chuckled.
"Oh, is it that obvious that someone as beautiful as I have a lot of admires?" Yuri teased her.
"Don't flatter yourself so much. Your head will get so big it'll pop." She gestured with her hands and he laughed.
"Same as always. Can't seem to rile you up, can I?"
Shez shook her head as they neared the bridge, and he stopped and leaned with his back on the railing.
"So, level with me. Old friend to old friend, what really is going on here?" When she hesitated, he raised an eyebrow. "Something has you that spooked? Or did something happen to Ben?"
"No, he's fine, as far as I know." She admitted, and he nodded. Shez walked over and leaned on the railing with her arms resting on the stone, looking out into the darkness. "We split up for now. He'll meet me in ten months."
"Where?"
"Here," she answered and then shook her head. "Not here… here, in the Abyss, but up top in the town by the Monastery."
Yuri gave a nod and turned to look at her, resting a hand on hers. "Okay, so you're holding back on some things. And I know all about secrets, been keeping them most of my life. Hell, we have some between the three of us. But right now, I need to know why you're down here, because this isn't some place for a girl like you Shez." He drew in a breath. "You know that, right?"
"It wasn't my choice to come here, honestly." She let out a sigh and bit her lip, her voice low so that only he could hear, "Like I said, Ben and I got into a fight with the Ashen Demon after she beat Captain Berlings. We were trying to help this noble with a trade route. I can't fully remember all of it, it's been a while, and the memories of that night get jumbled. But something happened, Yuri," she glanced at him as a bit of worry came over her face. "And because it happened, we made it out alive, unlike the others."
He squeezed her hand letting her talk, just like when they were little and she came with her mother to visit his, and she was upset over something she saw but wanted to be brave for her brother so he could cry to their mother and she wouldn't have to worry about both of them. Yuri nodded and let her gather her feelings.
"I'm… upset Yuri. I know what I need to do, but now. I assumed I was doing the right thing helping those students out, but… I don't know." Her voice trembled some. "I'm angry and frustrated, and nothing has been making sense. Now I'm down here, for how long, I don't know. But I need to get out and find Ben. We need to settle this with the Ashen Demon."
He watched her and smirked. "Fine, you have ten months. That's more than enough time for me to get you back to your brother."
Shez raised a brow. "And how are you going to do that?"
He laughed out loud and grinned at her in a way that was reassuring, just like old times. "I'm the Savage Mockingbird, Yuri Leclerc! There's nothing I can't accomplish when I put my mind to it," he dropped some of the bravado and tipped her chin up, "So don't you go worrying too much, okay? Trust me, like you used to."
"Of course I do, but I can't just rely on you, Yuri," Shez blushed some and moved her head. "And knock off the flirting."
He moved closer. She'd gotten cuter over the years, and leaned close to her ear as if to whisper something, then gave it a nip and laughed when she jumped back. "Just a little reminder of old times."
"We're not kids anymore, Yuri, don't do that." Shez pushed him back lightly and glanced around as she covered it. "Not cool."
"Not trying to be in this case," he gave her a genuine smile and offered his hand to her. "Come on, we should get back to the others. Almost time for dinner, and Shez." He smirked some. "Welcome to the Wolves."
