Title: Late Night Confrontations

Summary: Flavio didn't mean to get into a shouting match with the dark hunter, but, darn it, he started it!

AN: :3 Enjoy!


Flavio had started the habit of checking his survival kit before he went to bed to ensure he had everything. This particular night he realised that he was missing an Ariadne Thread. He knew that he could stop by the weapon shop in the morning, but he didn't want to chance it as he might forget about the errand in the morning. Or he would have a restless sleep by continuously reminding himself to buy a new thread in the morning.

It was the middle of the night as Flavio quietly made his way out of his room and out of the inn. He stopped by the shop, which was still open and being manned by the night shift as explorers and adventurers went out at all hours of the day and night.

After getting what he needed, Flavio started the task of quietly making his way back inside the inn. He went for the back door as there was less people traffic and he didn't want to disturb the other regulars at the inn.

However, as he reached the door he caught something move in the corner of his eye. He turned and tilted his head back slightly to look up. A window had opened and he could see a figure crouched on the windowsill. The figure moved and jumped into the tree that was close by, landing crouched on a branch.

At first Flavio felt a twinge of fear, figuring that someone had either robbed someone in their room or was trying to skip out on paying. However, he somewhat recognised the person.

White hair, deep tan skin, piercing gold eyes, and the attire of a dark hunter.

Flavio had seen him around the inn a few times, usually at night though when everyone else was or should be asleep. He, however, was always lounging around near windows. Open windows. The higher the better, if he was to assume anything.

He didn't know what to make of him to be honest. His aura and the way he would slouch his shoulders like some kind of defiant, moody teenager was somewhat irksome. Flavio couldn't explain why, though.

The dark hunter suddenly snapped his attention in his direction and narrowed his eyes into an annoyed squint. "What are you looking at?" he abruptly asked him, his tone confrontational.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep or maybe he was dehydrated, but Flavio felt irritated. "Do you have problems with doors?" he unexpectedly asked him as he indicated to the door he was supposed to be walking through himself. "I can teach you how to use one. It'll be difficult, but I'm patient."

The dark hunter still perched up in the tree bristled wildly, almost comically. "The hell is that supposed to mean?! I'm surprised a scrawny chipmunk like you has the upper body strength to even open a door."

"C-chipmunk?" Flavio spluttered with indignity before he, too, bristled and pointed an accusing finger at him. "That's a lot coming from someone who looks like a squirrel with rabies!"

"Did you just call me a squirrel?!" he snarled in return, once again prickling before he dropped out of the tree to the ground and pointed a challenging finger at him. "That's it, fight me!"

"Gladly!" Flavio said loudly in response.

He, however, soon froze in disbelief at himself. W-what was he saying?! He didn't have a weapon! Oh crap…

Before the dark hunter could say or do anything, a window on the ground floor of the inn abruptly opened and a slightly older man with black hair with eccentric beading mixed throughout the dreadlocks and dark brown skin rested his hands against the window sill and leaned out.

"Rahas," he said, causing the dark hunter to twitch, the fight momentarily fading from him. "If you're trying to sneak out to train in secret, try to do it quietly."

The young man who was named Rahas cringed. "Shit," he muttered under his breath.

Another window suddenly opened, a floor higher, and a man with orange hair and violet eyes popped his head out. He was immediately recognisable despite the fact he had his hair free from his usual ponytail and was dusting over his shoulders.

"I thought I recognised voices," Lynus said as he sleepily rubbed at his eyes. "Rahas, it's late, get back inside. You too, Flavio."

Flavio felt himself flinch for whatever reason and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "W-well, I was and-"

"Tch," Rahas muttered as he folded his arms defiantly over his chest. "You're not my mom, Lynus. If I want to go out at night, I will."

Lynus lowered his hand as a disapproving frown appeared on his lips. "You need proper rest. I will not have you hurting yourself with improper exercise and inadequate diet."

"Make me!" Rahas quickly retorted.

Lynus' frown deepened ever so slightly, yet he didn't seem at all perturbed or offended by the dark hunter. He sure did look disappointed, though. Like he had hoped for better.

"Don't talk to you mother like that," the man with the dreadlocks chided abruptly.

Rahas immediately zoned in on him. "Put a sock in it, grandpa!"

The man's eyes narrowed fearsomely, his lips tightly drawn, and if Flavio was seeing correctly, his right eyebrow was also twitching. He hazard a guess that the man had experienced his defiance several times before. And it still annoyed the crap out of him.

"You're in trouble now," Flavio was unable to prevent himself from stating.

And Rahas immediately whorled around to face him. "Shut up!"

…Huh. He was having three arguments with three different people. Incredible.

There was a loud sound of another window opening and a voice he recognised called out, causing Flavio to jump.

"Flavio! Where have you been?"

"F-Fafnir?" Flavio stuttered as he whipped around in the direction the voice came from and he craned his neck back to look at the second floor. And sure enough, Fafnir was leaning out the window, a frown on his lips as he stared down at him. "I was just getting something from the weapon shop."

Fafnir arched a sceptical eyebrow at him. "At 2am?"

"Yes, honestly," Flavio insisted. "It was still open, but not by Abigail, which is understandable since it's so late and-"

"I've been looking for you," Fafnir interrupted him, still not looking all that convinced or pleased. "Get back inside."

"Dude, I was gone like ten minutes," Flavio protested, planting his hands on his hips. "And why are you still doing up?"

Fafnir had the audacity to roll his eyes, dismissing his question. "Inside."

Flavio sighed, his shoulders drooping. So stubborn. "Ok ok," he said, knowing better than to argue back.

"Whipped."

Flavio bristled and spun around the dark hunter who had muttered that insult at him. "I don't want to hear that from a dark hunter!" he fumed.

Rahas arched an eyebrow at him and folded his arms over his chest, looking rather condescending. "Keep your bedroom antics to yourself."

Flavio felt his cheeks heat up and he flailed. "W-what the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Rahas," Lynus called out with a slight warning tone. "Don't pick on Flavio."

Flavio nodded his head eagerly. "Yeah, don't pick on Flavio."

With his arms still folded across his chest, Rahas narrowed his gaze at him in a purely defiant manner. "I'll pick on whoever the hell I like!"

Fafnir audibly snorted. "Doubt you can actually use a whip," he unexpectedly muttered, but loud enough for others to hear.

"Why, you offering to teach me?" Rahas swiftly retorted as he turned his attention to Fafnir and granted him a rather…disgusted look. "Keep that in the bedroom."

Fafnir's eye twitched and he suddenly grabbed at the sides of the window and placed a foot on the windowsill, more than ready to push himself out of it. "You little shit…"

"F-Fafnir!" Flavio said as he flailed his arms at him to get back inside. "Calm down! No fighting in the middle of the night!"

Another window abruptly opened and a new voice entered the fray. "What's with all the yelling out here?! Oh, hey, Flavio!

Flavio felt surprised and he turned to see who was calling out to him. It was Macerio, the brown-haired gunner. "Ah, hey?" Flavio returned with a slight wave.

Macerio quickly turned his attention to Rahas and a frown appeared on his lips. "Dude, Rahas, what are you doing?"

"The more important question is what are you doing in my room?" Rahas returned quickly.

"Lirit was lonely," Macerio answered innocently with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "So I'm keeping him company."

"I just fucking left!" Rahas shouted as he bristled and pointed an accusing finger at him. "What were you doing, hiding in the closet or something?"

Macerio cutely tilted his head to the side. "Why would I do that?"

Rahas snorted as he rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just don't do it in my bed."

"Huh?" Macerio blinked in pure confusion. "What's that supposed to mean? Do what?"

Yet another window opened, rather violently this time, and a certain survivalist with long blond hair leaned out, his attention in the direction of where Macerio was. "They're not doing shit. Lirit, I know you can hear me!"

Lirit quickly appeared in the same window Macerio was and leaned over Macerio's back, his arms inauspiciously around the gunner's waist. "I'll be good, I promise!"

Tobyn bristled protectively before he grabbed the sides of the window and appeared more than ready to push himself out of it as well. "Don't even think about it!"

Macerio still looked confused, his brow furrowing deeply. "What are you going on about?"

"Tobyn, calm down!" A voice ordered from inside the room Tobyn was located and a pair of arms suddenly found themselves around Tobyn's waist, trying to pull him back inside. "They're both respectable young men. They can work it out for themselves!"

But Tobyn kept a firm grip on the sides of the window. "Not yet, they don't!" he hissed.

"I still haven't got a clue what you're talking about!" Macerio shouted before he threw his head back and yelled, "Lynus!"

Glancing over at the medic, Flavio found Lynus rubbing his temples with his fingers, his face lightly flushed. "You can ask Tobyn all about it tomorrow."

Tobyn visibly twitched, his head dropping forward as if he just realised he made a terrible mistake.

"Idiots," Rahas muttered under his breath.

"Look, I really don't care who sleeps where," Lynus stated as he looked over at everyone with an expression of weariness on his face. "But you all need to actually sleep at some point. I don't care how many cups of coffee you think can sustain you."

"Agreed," Fafnir chimed in before anyone else could and narrowed his eyes in Flavio's direction, almost daring him to dispute him. "Flavio."

Flavio sighed and held his hands up in a pacifying manner. "Ok, ok! No more coffee tonight."

Rahas roughly folded his arms over his chest and he appeared to be pouting. "I'm not sleeping in the same room as Lirit and Macerio."

"Sleep in Hamza's room then!" Macerio responded.

"I'd rather sleep in a ditch!"

The first man, the one that must be named Hamza, snorted loudly. "Fine with me," he said.

"Screw you, old man."

"Rahas, don't be rude," Lynus chided.

"You should listen to your mother," Flavio added.

Rahas whirled around to face him like he had before. "Stay out of this," he practically snarled at him.

There was a sudden noise of surprise and Flavio turned his gaze toward Lynus' window, only to see the medic pressed to one corner of the window frame and the redheaded landsknecht leaning over him.

Axel unexpectedly placed his hands over Lynus' ears, startling the tangerine top greatly, before he drew in a sharp breath.

"Pull your dumb asses' back inside and get some sleep!" he yelled, causing everyone to jump in fright, Macerio almost falling out the window had Lirit not been holding him around the waist. "It's 2am in the morning, for fuck's sake!"

Another window sharply opened and Shen appeared, his foot perched on the window sill, appearing as though he would vault off of it and to the ground and physically stop anyone making a noise. "Agreed. Magnus has a headache."

"I-I'm sorry!" a voice squeaked from inside the room.

There was a chorus of 'goodnight!' before everyone (minus Fafnir) retreated back into their rooms, closing the windows quickly after.

And then…silence.

That…that was…

Was that normal for the Guardian Guild?

"…What just happened?" Flavio found himself mumbling in the silent aftermath.

"You get used to it," Rahas muttered as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket and turned to walk away from the inn. "Chipmunk."

Flavio felt his eye twitch. "Squirrel."

Rahas bristled, but said nothing and kept walking, practically slinking (or would that be sulking?) away.

…Hope he gets an earful from Lynus in the morning.

"Well," he heard Fafnir drawl from his window. "That was entertaining."

"Yeah, I guess," Flavio said as he roughly scratched the back of his head and turned to look up at Fafnir.

He found himself abruptly stilling. There was a rather…melancholy expression on Fafnir's face as he gazed off in the distance.

"You'll fit in well with them," Fafnir said, his voice soft, but audible over the silence of the night.

Flavio's breath left his lungs in a rush. "What do you mean?"

"See you inside," Fafnir said as he pulled himself back inside and closed the window.

Flavio didn't quite understand why he felt an acute sense of fear just then. He…just had to brush it off as tiredness. Yeah, Fafnir was tired, too. That was all.