Title: Unique Encounters
Summary: First an argumentative dark hunter, next a gleefully drunk troubadour, then an airheaded hexer telling him he should be dead? Fafnir had to admit, the Guardian guild had some interesting members…
AN: Dear God, I am having so much fun with this series~
Fafnir followed Flavio down the stairs to the foyer of the inn. After a long day of trekking through the labyrinth, they were heading out to get something to eat at the restaurant. Arianna, Bertrand, and Chloe had already set out, while Fafnir and Flavio made a quick stop to the inn to drop off their explorer kits and other essentials into their rooms.
As they reached the bottom step of the stairs, Flavio suddenly paused, his posture somewhat irritated. First, Fafnir wondered if he had forgotten something and was annoyed at himself, but after a quick glance around, a habit he had picked up from being inside the labyrinth, his gaze fell upon a figure that was slinking their way to the front entrance.
With his hands in his pockets, his shoulders slumped forward, and a scowl on his face, Fafnir somewhat recognised him. White hair, maroon clothing, and dark skin. He was that dark hunter from the other night. The night he overheard shouting outside his window. Rahas or something.
Glancing over at Flavio, Fafnir realised that he appeared to be inwardly struggling with something. A comment was on the tip of his tongue and he was battling with himself to keep it there and not say anything. From the twitch of his eyebrow, though, he couldn't contain himself any longer.
"Learned how to use doors, have you, Squirrel?"
Rahas bristled comically as he spun around and glared at Flavio through one eye, the other hidden behind white hair that had been pedantically styled in place. He drew in a sharp intake of air through his noise, appearing ready to yell a response back before he seemed to calm himself and slowly stalk toward them. "Hey, Chipmunk, you do know that half the town now knows you have pudgy cheeks?"
"I do not have pudgy cheeks!"
"And I'm not a fucking squirrel!"
Fafnir stayed quiet as the two immediately began to bicker and insult each other. He had to admit that he was somewhat amusing watching Flavio get into a childish insulting match with another. He could be wonderfully insulting when he was particularly annoyed by someone or something.
Glancing over the dark hunter's shoulder, Fafnir's eyes immediately fell upon the figure of someone else. Silver hair and green eyes. A troubadour by appearance. And he appeared to be silently creeping up behind Rahas.
Fafnir arched a questioning eyebrow when the silver-haired troubadour lifted a finger to his lips, motioning for him to be quiet. Curious, Fafnir remained silent, watching with a growing sense of amusement as the other man slowly snuck up behind Rahas, who of which was still bickering with Flavio.
The troubadour suddenly sprung forward and threw his arms around Rahas in an overly exuberant hug, causing the dark hunter to release a loud, high-pitch shriek of surprise and indignity. So loud was his wail of surprise that even Flavio jumped back in surprise, his back hitting Fafnir square in the chest.
With a smirk of amusement playing on his lips, Fafnir wrapped an arm around Flavio's waist and took a step back, pulling Flavio with him. He was content for now to watch the troubadour interact with the dark hunter. Obviously, he knew him, so it was a safe bet that he was either a good friend to the Guardian Guild or was yet another member.
"How's my favourite emo brat?" the troubadour asked cheerfully as he rubbed his cheek against Rahas'.
"Cedric, what the fuck?!" Rahas shrilled as he immediately began to struggle to push the other away. Yet, despite how desperate he seemed to be to put distance between them, he was ensuring that his flailing limbs didn't harm the other in any way. "You're drunk again?!"
The troubadour, Cedric, pouted childishly as he released his hold around him. "So rude," he said before he quickly perked up again and looked over in Fafnir and Flavio's direction. "Who are your new friends?"
"They're not friends," Rahas replied gruffly before a half smirk appeared on his lips as he glanced over at Flavio. "But that's Chipmunk and his kinky boyfriend."
Fafnir narrowed his eyes fearsomely at the dark hunter while he tightened his arm around Flavio's waist when he felt him bristled wildly. He placed his hands on Fafnir's arm and leaned forward, as if he wanted to pull himself out of Fafnir's grip and launch himself at that smirking dark hunter.
"The name is Flavio," he said as he narrowed his eyes. But, surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly), he appeared flustered. "And Fafnir is not…kinky."
Cedric continued to smile in a blissful, drunken manner, while Rahas sent Flavio a purely sceptical look. "You didn't deny he was your boyfriend," he suddenly commented.
Flavio blushed darkly. "I was getting to that!" he insisted, his hands tightening around Fafnir's arms as if just realising that Fafnir was indeed holding him around the wait with a single arm. "W-we're just friends."
Fafnir couldn't help but allow a sense of annoyance to appear in his chest. The wording of 'just friends' seemed to piss him off greatly. But he pushed it aside. It was…probably for the best, after all.
"Friends?" Rahas repeated with his expression and tone now highly sceptical. "There's a lot of these friendships going round."
With his cheeks still sporting a dusting of light red, Flavio opened his mouth to give the other man a retort of some kind, but was interrupted when Cedric laughed cheerfully once more.
"Nice to meet you," Cedric said. "You can call me Cedric. That's my name, anyway. I'm Hamza's childhood friend."
Cedric then giggled. It wasn't a chuckle. It wasn't a soft laugh. It was a giggle. Fafnir had never heard a grown man giggle like that before. He was quite…well-oiled, wasn't he?
Rahas gruffly folded his arms over his chest as he turned to face the silver-haired troubadour. "Just what is your relationship with Hamza, anyway?" he suddenly asked, appearing as if that question had been bugging him for a while.
It was as if…he just wanted someone to admit that, yes, they were indeed in a relationship. Yet there was also a sense of wanting to know just so…he could avoid that shit? This dark hunter was rather full of contradictions, wasn't he?
"Hm…" Cedric thought for a moment before he cheerfully clapped his hands together in front of him. "You can call me grandma!"
Rahas immediately bristled. "I ain't calling you shit!"
Cedric continued to smile. "No need to yell, grandma can hear you just fine."
"Shut up!" Rahas hissed through seemingly clenched teeth before he folded his arms over his chest. "You shouldn't be drinking in your condition, anyway."
Cedric tutted lightly, even going as far as to wag his finger at him. "Rahas, dear," he said in a subtly patronizing tone. "I'm fairly certain I'm not pregnant."
Rahas immediately looked disgusted at the thought. "The hell? Fairly?"
"Well, you know…things happen," Cedric replied and sent Rahas a wink.
"You know what, fuck it," Rahas suddenly said as he threw his hands up in the air in frustration and turned on his heel toward the front entrance of the inn. "Go slobber over Hamza or something!"
"Don't stay out too late, grandson," Cedric said as he cheerfully waved him goodbye.
"Screw you!"
Flavio watched until the dark hunter was out of sight before turning his attention back to Cedric. "Is he always like that?" he asked as Fafnir loosened his hold around him a little, relaxing with the knowledge that Flavio won't accidentally get into a fight with Rahas now.
Cedric turned to Flavio and gave him a surprisingly sad smile. "He has had a troubled start to his life. Quite dark and lonely."
Fafnir felt a frown tug at his lips while Flavio fell silent, not sure in how to respond.
"He's still an emo brat, though," Cedric quickly stated, his jovial demeanour making a rapid return. "And I love picking on him."
Flavio deadpanned at him. "I see."
Cedric turned to face Flavio before stilling. He stared at him for a moment before he suddenly made a small motion with his hand, asking for Flavio to lean forward a tiny bit. Flavio blinked in surprise, his brow furrowing slightly, but he leaned forward nonetheless. As soon as he did, Cedric reached up and…placed his palms against Flavio's cheeks, causing his lips to mimic that of a fish.
"They're so soft!" Cedric exclaimed happily, unaware of the twitch of annoyance from Flavio's eyebrow.
Fafnir felt his eyebrow twitch as well, but from protectiveness rather than annoyance. But Cedric was different from that highlander. And close to the Guardian guild. And he was drunk, as well. He appeared to be a harmless drunk. A happy one was better than an angry one.
"You are just so cute!" Cedric continued as he massaged Flavio's cheeks dramatically. "Full pouty lips, dreamy blue eyes, wavy dark hair; I hope your boyfriend is protective or you'll get eaten up in no time!"
Well…Fafnir couldn't argue with that. And he had a point. Hm…
"W-what does that mean?" Flavio spluttered.
"Cedric, I think you should let Flavio go now," a familiar voice chided slightly.
Cedric immediately dropped his hands from Flavio's cheeks and spun around. He then uttered a noise of pure delight when he saw a certain orange-haired medic that was no more than a foot behind him and he flung his arms around him in a hug.
"Lynus, love," Cedric said as he nuzzled his cheek against Lynus', much like had done with Rahas, but Lynus wasn't struggling like said dark hunter had. He was compliant, as if he had endured this display of affection numerous times already. "I was looking for you, but got distracted by the softest cheeks I think I've ever seen."
"Why is everyone so obsessed with my cheeks…?" Flavio was heard muttering to himself as he idly rubbed his cheeks.
…As long as they stay obsessed with the cheeks on his face.
Lynus chuckled as he patted Cedric on the back and turned to look over at Flavio with a softly empathetic expression on his face. "Sorry about Cedric. I keep telling him not to drink too much."
"I've only had a couple of drinks," Cedric immediately insisted with a pout as he pulled away from Lynus, but kept his hands on his shoulders not the less.
Lynus smiled indulgently at him. "Of what and what size were these drinks?"
"Oh, the usual," Cedric replied in a dismissive manner before his pout became, well, poutier when Lynus continued to smile knowingly at him. "Don't give me that look. Let grandma have his happy juice. Honestly, kids these days."
"Cedric," Lynus said kindly as he took Cedric by the elbow. "You're thirty-three."
"An ancient compared to kids these days."
"Now, now. You're young at heart."
Cedric sniffed before he muttered, "Just not young at lungs…"
Lynus gently squeezed Cedric's elbow. "We're getting there," he whispered.
Cedric looked down at the hand gripping his elbow before looking back up at Lynus, a soft, sincere smile on his lips. "We are."
As Fafnir watched the two, he suddenly realised that though he had had a few encounters with the Guardian Guild, he had never actually spoken to the most beloved member.
A loud noise, like that of something, or someone, hitting the ground quickly caused the four of them to jump slightly in surprise. A frown immediately made its way upon Fafnir's lips as he turned to look behind him, where the sound seemed to have resonated from. And what he saw was…a person, from appearance. Faded maroon tattered robes, golden chains, and long washout white hair. A hexer, probably. And they were lying face down in the middle of the stairwell. As if they had tripped on the bottom step and fell…up the stairs?
"Mahogany?" Lynus said with a tone of concern as he hurried over to him, Cedric right behind him. He walked up a couple of steps before sighing as he crouched down near the beginning to move form. "Not again. How in the world did you fall up the stairs?"
Slowly, with help from Lynus, the hexer pushed himself to his knees, before twisting slightly to sit himself upon the steps. He clutched at his head as Lynus gently brushed back his hair, whispering questions to him, earning a nod every now and again. Lynus was concerned for the other's welfare, but he wasn't overly worried. In fact, it seemed as though Mahogany dropping to the ground suddenly had happened numerous times before.
Snapping his head up, Mahogany suddenly turned his attention directly at Fafnir, his red eyes boring into his. Though his gaze wasn't fierce, nor did it hold any ill-intent, Fafnir felt a surprising sense of unease form in the pit of his stomach. It was as if…Mahogany knew something about him that he, himself, refused to admit.
"Don't say it…" Flavio unexpectedly whispered softly.
Fafnir was puzzled and wondered what Flavio was referring to when he hexer said something that both puzzled and startled him.
"You should be dead, too."
Fafnir heard Flavio draw in a sharp intake of air while Lynus visibly winced. "Mahogany…"
"Yes, yes," Cedric suddenly said, flapping his hand dismissively at the hexer. "And I should have died twice over, I know."
"Come on, you two," Lynus said as he helped guide Mahogany to his feet before abruptly snaring his wrist with his left hand while his right hand moved to instinctively take Cedric's, the troubadour all but beaming from the touch. "Let's go sit in the tea room for a while."
Mahogany tilted his head to the side as Lynus began to pull him along. "Do you need to hold my hand?"
Lynus turned around to face him, giving him a rather pointed, no-nonsense look. "After seeing you walk into the same wall three times today; yes. Yes, I do."
Three times? How could you walk into the same wall three times? And that was just today?
Wait…maybe that would explain the strange thud he heard outside his room last night. He had chalked it up to an explorer stumbling drunk into the inn late last night. Maybe it was this airhead?
"Excuse us," Lynus said as he turned his attention back to Fafnir and Flavio, granting them both an apologetic smile. "You're welcome to visit us in the tearoom, though."
"Hm, we'll catch you later," Flavio said with a smile of his own, yet he appeared…distracted.
Lynus gave Flavio a look, one that was somehow sympathetic, but knowing, before he urged Cedric and Mahogany to walk with him, the three of them moving deeper into the inn.
As soon as they were out of sight, Fafnir turned his attention to Flavio. "What happened?" he asked, not liking the way Flavio had turned pale and quiet.
"He…said the same thing to Bertrand this morning," Flavio told him as he slowly turned his face toward him, though his gaze linger to the ground, as if not wanting Fafnir to see the uncertainty in his eyes. "Apparently he says things like that all the time. Suffers from visions or something."
Oh…
"He walked into the same wall three times today," Fafnir quickly reminded him as he reached out to place an arm around his shoulders to tug him against his side. "It's nothing to worry about."
As Flavio rested against him, he finally lifted his gaze from the floor to look at him. There was still a sense of uncertainty in his eyes. "…Yeah," he muttered before plastering a forced smile on his lips. "Let's head to the restaurant. The others will be wondering about us."
"Right," Fafnir said as he kept his arm around Flavio's shoulder, the two of them walking from the inn.
As they silently headed in the direction of the restaurant, Fafnir tried to push the short encounter with Mahogany to the back of his mind. The words lingered, though. He knew that hexers had strange, sometimes frightening abilities. Rumours of even being able to read minds were rampant.
He couldn't help but wonder…How much did that hexer know about him?
