Once Matthew finished his breakfast, he then went to pack up his things as well. After a few moments, he had to give Kuma a whole pear of his own just to get the saddle on. "Glutton." Matthew teased.
Ivan took a paper and something to write with out of his bag, scribbling things in Solstice before folding the paper and putting it in his pocket and putting the writing tool away with the rest of his stuff. When he was done packing, he stood up and put the bag on his back.
"Ready?" Matthew asked as walked alongside Kuma, wondering to himself what Ivan had written down.
"Nearly, one moment." He walked away from Matthew and across the border into Solstice. He went another twenty steps or so before lifting a hand to his lips and giving a few long, loud whistles, while he looked off in the distance.
He waited a few minutes before trying again and this time there was the answering cry of a golden eagle in the distance. Ivan whistled again before lowering his hand from his lips and waiting for the eagle to get closer. He held out his arm for it to land on.
The partially albino golden eagle landed on his arm and greeted him, Ivan smiled and stroked it, speaking to it in his home language before giving it a treat. The eagle took it and ate it before looking at Ivan expectantly.
Ivan smiled and took the rolled up piece of paper out of his pocket and held it out for the eagle to take with its talons. The bird grasped it tightly and nuzzled Ivan shortly before taking off and flying away. Ivan smiled and watched it fly before turning and walking back to the two. "Now I am ready."
"Kuma wants to know who your friend was." Matthew said, though he was already heading down the road.
"That was Orel. He is a golden eagle. Father and many others refer to him as my pet but he is more like what Kumajiro is to you." Ivan walked with him. "He is a partner and a friend who does not judge me. I found him injured when he was very small and nursed him back to health with some help from my older sister. He likes following me while I travel in Solstice but I dislike him following me to other countries for safety reasons so he stays near the border and listens for me in case I am nearby." Ivan smiled a bit, looking back across the border as they walked. "My older sister worries for me a lot so Orel also acts as a messenger between her and I."
"That is sweet. So that is why you were looking over the border yesterday?" He smiled at Kuma before looking back at Ivan.
Ivan turns to look back at Matthew and nods. "Yes, I thought he may be nearby but I wasn't positive."
"You have a bird as a friend, how come you can't understand Kumajiro?"
"Ah, well I do not understand Orel to the point where I could translate actually." Ivan explains. "He understands what I am saying and I have come to understand what some of what he means based on his tone and pitch, but I rely more on his actions and body language to communicate with him than I do actual his actual speech."
"That's how Kuma and I do most of our speaking. Their language is not as versatile as ours." Matthew was growing in confusion.
Ivan blinked, looking slightly surprised. "Ah, it does not appear that way to me." He says. "Perhaps it is because you have known each other longer?"
"Y-yes, you're right. That must be it." He broke eye contact.
Ivan gave the boy an odd look but didn't comment on the stutter. "Yes."
)*(
Over the two weeks that passed, Matthew had done his best to teach Ivan all he could about courting. There were repeated lessons on ways to compliment on just about anything that might come to mind with princesses. The smiling lessons were fun, for one that didn't normally express what he felt on his face. In addition, he was trying to get Ivan to relax and not to be serious all the time.
As Matthew had done his best to teach Ivan, Ivan had done his best to learn from Matthew. He did pretty well on most of them but some required a bit more effort.
For Matthew, being inexperienced with the topic as he was, he was running out of things to help Ivan with. They needed Francis back for his flirting lessons. And then... dealing with them. Matthew had agreed to be Ivan's test dummy; surely, it wouldn't be nearly as bad as coming straight from the incubus' mouth? It would be beneficial for Francis to show up but they had no way of knowing when the incubus would show up either.
With everything going on there was still one problem, they had been to two different Kings to ask for a daughter's hand and weren't having much luck. Maybe Matthew should go with him and act as a servant to see how things went down and then he'd be of more use.
"Ah, I never thought I would say this but I actually wish Francis would turn up soon. We are running out of topics to do without requiring his help, correct?"
Matthew laughed weakly. "I'm sorry about this. The way I was brought up did not give me the experience in these matters."
"It is fine Matthew." Ivan chuckles a bit as well. "Even if you had, it is a bit hard to outmatch a sex demon in experience, correct?"
"I-I guess you're right on that..."
)*(
That night after they had set up camp and eaten, a voice came from the shadows and a little ways away. "Hello Ivan, hello Matthew. Will it be all right for me to come over there or will I be attacked again by the hippogriff?" His tone was pleasant but there was a slight wariness to his words, which explained why he hadn't just walked over to them right away.
Ivan lifted his head and turned in the direction of the voice. "Ah, hello Francis." He says sounding pleasantly surprised.
"Kuma's fine." Matthew said happily as he patted the bird's back; they were curled up together by the fire near Ivan.
"Excellent." Francis says, walking out of the shadows and joining them by the fire. "It is good to see you both again." He smiles. "How have the lessons been going?" Francis looked to Matthew and arched his eyebrow curiously.
"Um... As good as they can be? Ivan's still having a hard time with the Kings."
Ivan nodded. "Yes, lessons are fine but the kings are not." He frowned.
Francis nodded. "Yes, yes. Kings are stubborn things. Especially if their daughters do not wish to consent either."
Ivan just gave him a look that told him to quit stating the obvious.
Francis smiled. "Well, I need to go feed tonight since we are not too far from a small village. I suggest you both rest up today and stay here for all of tomorrow and we can start our first lesson tomorrow night. You are both no doubt tired from walking all day and I am a nocturnal being so daytime lessons will simply not do."
"I guess we could do that, does that work for you Ivan?"
"Yes, that sounds reasonable." Ivan says with a nod.
Francis beams. "Excellent! Then I shall be off to go feed and be back tomorrow night." With that he got up and left them, disappearing into the darkness.
Ivan chuckles a bit at the incubus' enthusiasm. No doubt, Francis would be enjoying every second of the lessons he would teach.
"Are you nervous?" He asked as he pulled his blanket over him, he would move away from the fire pit in a bit.
"Only of Francis tries to do more than just teach." He says truthfully, laying down a little way away from the fire and covering up in his blanket. "It will have… negative impacts on my health if he does such a thing with me since I am human. Once won't kill me but it will affect me and I would rather not have that happen."
"How does it affect one's health from one... er feeding?"
"What he feeds off of is the person's energy while he is doing such things with them. It is like taking away a little of your life each time without all the pain of it. If he does it with one person too many times they will eventually die."
"So... your energy has a hard time recovering?" Matthew asked with the tilt of his head. He was still quite puzzled about incubi. "My energy can easily recover fully in a day or so."
"By energy I mean more along the lines of our vitality, our… life-essence I suppose." Ivan says slowly, it was a bit difficult to explain. "Imagine that each time he feeds off of someone, he is taking one or more years off of their lives. Years that they will not get to live."
"W-what!? Surely he does not feed often then?"
Ivan snorts. "I think he usually feeds on several people a night."
"B-but if he's taking a year o-or more of someone's life he shouldn't have to feed that often!" He would certainly being having a talk with this demon tomorrow night. This wasn't right!
"I am sure it is much less than a year but I was just giving a guess." Ivan chuckles. "You can ask him tomorrow night if you would like but he enjoys what he does and I do not believe he wishes to kill anyone. It is most likely why he travels instead of having one set home."
Matthew sighed and whistled a little, Kumajiro then clicking his beak in response. "Bed time... Well goodnight Ivan." He then stood up with Kuma and they went to lie in the grass together.
Ivan stayed up for a while longer before putting out the fire and going to sleep.
)*(
The next day felt off to Ivan; it just seemed odd not to need to pack up and start travelling, though he packed his things in his bag anyway as a force of habit more than anything else.
Matthew on the other hand quite enjoyed the fact they didn't have to rush off. He was up when the sun rose and started to make breakfast. Kuma was also taking in the opportunity of any easygoing day and sleeping in. "So Ivan since today we won't be going anywhere, is there anything you'd like to do? Also would you like some toast this morning?" He chirped happily like a morning songbird.
"Yes please." Ivan says coming over and sitting nearby. "And I am not sure. I would still like to teach you some things about fighting but I do not think it would be beneficial to exhaust ourselves today since Francis' lesson is at night."
Matthew began to roast the slices of bread and being over the fire it didn't take any longer than a few moments.
"Jam?" He asked even though Ivan had asked his own questions. He would answer them after Ivan had his food. "I have mixed berry."
"Sure." Ivan says with a nod.
Matthew then handed him his toast with jam. "All right well, I don't see why running around is so bad. After all, the lessons won't involve anything other than speech. That is if you really want to tire yourself out trying to catch me."
Ivan took the toast and took ate a bit of it before speaking. "Ah, well while I do not have any practice blades on hand, I do have things we could use to practice fighting techniques with if we wanted to. Though that raises the risk of either of us getting injured as they are real blades." He ate a bit more. "And you may think it only involves speech, but no doubt Francis will have things other than speech to teach as well."
"I can heal myself with magic." He says with a shrug. "I've dealt with pain before." Though he was trying to look as if he would be okay with Francis, he wasn't. Francis knew something about his body that even Matthew didn't know and that was not good.
"Mm, maybe we shall practice a bit later then." He says, eating his breakfast. "Preferably after Kumajiro has woken up to avoid any misunderstandings."
"Oh he's listening even if he is asleep, the second I offered you toast his ears twitched." Matthew laughed.
"Ah." Ivan says, chuckling. "Well whenever you are ready to start then."
"After I finish eating I guess." He says simply and chows down on his toast. "There's still fruit left in my bag if you want any."
Ivan nods and gets a piece of fruit and eats it. He then goes over and crouches down next to Kumajiro, saying the hippogriff's name once to get his attention and then offering the core to him.
Kuma lifts his head lazily, half glaring at Ivan before taking the core and then tucking his head under his wing. He may not be fully asleep, but he was moody when bothered while resting.
"Sorry for disturbing you." Ivan says with a half amused smile at the moody glare before standing up and going to his own bag. He pulled out a few of the longer blades he had with him, assessing them for condition before stowing all but two back in his bag.
He then started to clean the blades. Matthew watched and ate slowly, not at all looking forward to this.
Ivan cleaned the blades thoroughly, taking his time and testing the sharpness of both to determine which blade would be safest for Matthew to use.
"You're making this feel like a bad idea..."
Ivan looked up in surprise, tilting his head. "Ah, how?"
"Testing the edge and sharpening them so much." He answered with a frown.
"Ah? I am not sharpening either of them." Ivan says, blinking in surprise. "I am cleaning and seeing which one will be safest for you to use. Though I would usually start someone off with a wooden blade first but we do not have any on hand so I am using the next best available thing."
Matthew crossed his arms. "And what? You think I've never had a sword lesson in my life?"
Ivan gives a slightly amused smile. "I did not say that. Your brother taught you, correct? Most knights teach their younger siblings if they have time and their siblings are interested in learning from them."
"Ha! If I had the option I wouldn't even be touching a sword." He grumbled.
Ivan couldn't help but laugh at that. "Ah, he forced the lessons upon you to make sure you could defend yourself then?"
"You could say that."
"A good brother then." Ivan says with a chuckle. "It is best to make sure those you care about can defend themselves in case you are not there to help them. I taught my sisters how to use daggers and small weapons that can be easily concealed under and in their dresses for that reason."
"I can protect myself just fine and even before my brother became a knight. I am not naïve, I know there are dangers out in the world."
"Yes, yes. I did not say you were Matthew." Ivan says, going back to cleaning the blades. "I am simply trying to help you better your skill like you have been helping me with the other things."
"I don't want to better it, I just want to be a healer for east-winds sake!" He stood up angrily, making Kuma snap his head up to see what was going on. "Is that so hard for everyone to understand!?"
Ivan looked up at him quietly for a few moments before speaking calmly. "Matthew, please sit down and I will explain why it is important to know it regardless of what you want to be."
"I will stay standing, thank you." He said defensively, he felt safest standing. He took a deep breath to calm himself a bit. He would listen but if it was anything like Alfred's talk, he was not going to take it well.
"I will use an example to explain. Pretend for a moment that you have become a healer and you know nothing of fighting or defending yourself using blades of any sort."
Matthew kept his mouth shut so he would not be rude. Healers knew how to use knives for medical purposes.
"Other than for healing purposes I mean." He says after a moment. "Now pretend the town you live in is in the midst of a war or raids or attacks."
"Alright..."
"Now pretend all of the uninjured knights are facing the enemy on the opposite side of town but more of the enemy comes to the side where you are healing the injured." Ivan spoke calmly but seriously. "The injured knights would fight if they are able to but that is not enough men. If you are attacked while tending to the wounded or comforting the children, how will you protect yourself and them?"
"With my magic." He said stubbornly, but was seeing a small point to it.
"Magic requires energy doesn't it? It runs out after a while." Ivan says. "When that energy is gone and you are still being attacked you would not be able to defend yourself and those you are tending to without knowledge of how to fight or use a blade in that way. You and those you were trying to defend would either be captured or slaughtered."
"..." Matthew found no argument there. Ivan must have really thought about this. It felt like a guilt trip and he hated it.
"Also, if someone you should be able to trust, like a relative, happens to attack you for whatever reason; you will be able to defend yourself and fight back if necessary." Ivan adds after a moment.
"Now you're making it sound like you're going to turn on me."
"I have no intention to do harm to you Matthew. I said that on the first day." Ivan says quietly, looking back down at the blades and cleaning the one he would use. "I have just had personal experience with relatives doing such a thing on more than one occasion and I find it was easier to deal with them after I had properly learned how to fight and use blades."
"But-" Matthew cried out in anguish. He didn't want to fight. He didn't want to hurt anyone. He just wanted to help people and make someone happy, he wasn't the type of guardian that used their powers and strength to slay. That was Alfred, not him.
"You do not have to use any knowledge of how to fight and use blades that you have to hurt others Matthew." Ivan says calmly. "You do not have to kill with them. You can use the knowledge solely to defend yourself and others or you can not use them at all. But it is still better to know how to defend yourself with them and not need to use them, than to not learn them and be hurt or killed due to not knowing."
"Enough! I-I don't want to hear anymore." Matthew stormed up to Ivan with tears in his eyes, thrusting his hand outward to be given the blade. "Let's just get this over with!"
"…No." He says after a few moments of looking up at Matthew. Ivan shook his head. "If you do not wish to learn, I do not need to teach you."
"W-what in north's wind!? You've been pressing this on me since even before we left! And now you just change mind all of a sudden?"
"This topic clearly upsets you as you appear to be near crying." He says, wrapping up the blades and beginning to return them to his bag. "I will not press the matter further if it is upsetting you this much."
Matthew turned his back to Ivan and bolted away from the camp. He ignored Kumajiro's call and ran through the brush and into the woods. With his emotions running amuck and on the brink of crying, he didn't want to be just sitting around while Ivan watched. He refused to cry in front of anyone anymore. After all, he was no longer a child.
Ivan's eyes widened in surprise, he shoved his blades back into his bag and stood up, hesitating a moment and requesting the Kumajiro please stay here and guard the supplies. Then Ivan took off after Matthew, following the path through the brush as best he could.
Kumajiro screeched after him, he wanted to tell Ivan to leave Matthew alone and that he was not a watchdog at his bidding but he stayed at the camp.
Don't cry anymore it makes you look weak.
You need to be strong Matthew.
Learn to fight so you can protect yourself.
Work the land to build up your strength.
You're so small Matthew, you need to eat more.
I simply have a hard time believing that you managed to carry all of my dead weight inside on your own.
Stop it! S-stop it! Matthew covered his ears to block out the hallucinating voices.
All these voices, all these people, they all expected the same; for him to be stronger. But how could he be stronger if no one believed in him? If no one would listen to him? If no one would trust him?
If he were a fairy, he would have died long ago. But... he had hoped that Ivan was the one he could prove that he could fulfill the role of being a guardian.
In the end he was wrong, he was a pitiful guardian. Matthew might as well rip his very wings from his back from the shame he felt.
It took him a few minutes but Ivan finally found the boy. He hesitated instead of approaching him however. He wasn't sure if he should disturb Matthew or not right now. Matthew wasn't running any more but he didn't stop moving. He wanted to be farther away from camp so he wouldn't be heard, though his tears were already falling from his eyes.
Ivan followed along a little ways behind the boy, staying as quiet as possible, not wanting to startle Matthew.
After a long walk, Matthew finally stopped and dropped in front of a tree. Once his knees came into contact with the ground, he began to cry. He held nothing back for he thought he was alone. Matthew's breath stuttered from hiccups, hopelessly wiping the stream of tears with his hands.
Ivan stopped a little ways off behind him, not yet approaching him. He was unsure if he should or if approaching would just make Matthew run further away. After a minute or two, Ivan slowly approached him from behind, taking care to be as quiet as possible. He stopped a short distance away, not sure if he should speak up.
After a few moments, Ivan took a few more steps and silently kneeled down behind Matthew. Here he hesitated, for some reason it ached to just watch Matthew cry, and he did not like the guilt he felt, figuring this was his fault anyway.
Ivan thought back to what Irunya used to do to comfort him and Natalya when they were little.
About a minute later, Ivan spoke Matthew's name softly to announce his presence before gently pulling the boy into a hug. It felt a bit awkward to Ivan though, he had not shown affection or caring like this to anyone other than his sisters for quite some time.
Matthew let out a shrill cry of surprise and struggled to get away before it clicked that it was Ivan holding him. "I-Ivan...?"
Ivan gave a slight start at the sudden high pitched sound so near his ears but he held tighter if anything, determined to not need to chase after the boy again. He loosened his hold slightly after a moment so it wouldn't be painful, just secure. "Yes Matthew?"
"W-what you- w-why did you come after me..?" His voice was hushed and shaking, Matthew knew he had been caught crying. Ivan must think even less of him now.
"I was worried. You took off so suddenly. And so quickly, it was difficult to keep up and not make a lot of noise." Ivan says, also keeping his voice hushed. He pulled Matthew close to his chest with one arm and used his free hand to stroke the boy's hair in a way that he hoped was soothing. He was using his memories of what Irunya did to calm him when he was little to guide his actions, as he'd never really done anything like this before to anyone other than his sisters.
"Worried..?" The boy was now slightly curious. Ivan was being surprisingly gentle, but still feared that Ivan would mock him for his tears.
"Yes." Ivan says with a slight nod, continuing to stroke the boy's hair. "…If you still need to cry, it is all right to cry on me Matthew." He says gently after a few moments of thought.
Matthew looked up at Ivan with wide, surprised eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. His body started shaking again as he turned in the man's arms, crying into the larger man's shoulder.
Ivan pulled him close and continued to stroke his hair quietly, letting Matthew cry on his shoulder. After a while, Ivan started humming softly on impulse. It was a tune to a song he had forgotten the lyrics to long ago but still knew the tune. It may or may not have been one of the tunes to one of Irunya's lullabies. She had sung many for him though, so he could not be sure if what he was humming now was one of hers or not. Regardless of who's it was, he hoped it soothed the boy even a little bit.
After a while Matthew calmed to just sniffles and trembling. Why was Ivan doing this? Was there a catch?
Ivan stopped humming when Matthew calmed down though he continued to stroke Matthew's hair. "Feel a little better now?" He asks gently.
"Why are you doing this...?" He asked, though feared the answer.
"Because I upset you and made you cry in the first place, yes?" He replies sincerely. "I apologize for upsetting you so much Matthew."
"No... it wasn't only you. I'm sorry you had to see me like this."
"But I pushed you to a point that got you upset." He says calmly. "It is fine, you do not need to apologize for this Matthew."
"Don't you see this as weakness... I'm an adult a-and yet I still cry like a small child."
"Even adults need to cry sometimes Matthew." He says, looking surprised that the boy thought he would see it as a weakness.
"I... I cry more than sometimes.." He mumbles and tries to hide his face.
"That is fine Matthew." Ivan says, letting the boy hide his face. "It just means you are more sensitive than others. For example, my older sister can be quite the cry baby while my younger sister and I rarely cry."
Matthew laughed nervously. "You know. You talk of how you're heartless, but every time you prove that you have a big heart."
"…I have said that others have called me heartless, not that I believed them." Ivan says after a few long moments of silence. "I can be cruel, detached, and deadly, yes. But I do not believe that I am heartless," He paused for a moment before continuing. "…Or at least, not completely heartless."
Matthew shifted in Ivan's hold and wrapped his arms around the other. As he hugged the prince, a small smile showed on his lips. "Thank you."
Ivan blinked in surprise tensing slightly for a brief second on reflex before returning the hug. "Ah, you are welcome, yes?" He sounded a bit confused, like he wasn't entirely sure why he was being thanked.
After a moment, Matthew let go and went to pull back. "I should go let Kumajiro know I'm okay. I wouldn't want to make Kuma dislike you for a misunderstanding." Now he said dislike, but really, he was just softening the blow. There was no doubt that the hippogriff would be fuming mad when they returned.
Matthew felt a bit disappointed that he had to end the hug so quickly. Ivan was surprisingly great at comforting others, not that he doubted that the man had kindness inside.
Ivan let Matthew pull back and stood up with a slightly nervous chuckle. "I do not think he will be very happy with me, I did not want to leave our things unguarded so I asked him to stay there and keep an eye on our things while I went after you, I could hear him screech at me as I ran after you."
Ivan looked down at the boy, tilting his head for a moment in thought before scooping him up into his arms and starting to walk back the way they came.
The young man let out a startled gasp and looked up at Ivan like the time he had mistaken him for a woman. "I-I-Ivan!? What are you doing? P-put me down, I can walk just fine."
Ivan chuckled at the boy's reaction. "No, you ran quiet far and after crying so much you should be a bit exhausted, yes?" Ivan continued walking. "Plus, I am less likely to be subject to the full force of whatever rage Kumajiro will have for me if I am holding you."
He scoffed and then gave a small smirk. "Using me as a shield are we?"
"Possibly." He replies with slight smile.
"I don't know if that will work. Kuma could easily get you from behind."
"It is worth a try." Ivan says continuing to go back the way they came. "I bet I am bringing you back sooner than you would have come back on your own if I had not chased after you, yes?"
"..." Matthew frowned and looked down before some his embarrassment became clear on his cheeks. He was right, he would have spent at least an hour crying by himself. Ivan just smiled and continued walking back; they reached the campsite after a while.
Kumajiro was waiting for him. He was scraping the ground with his hooves as a warning that he was about to charge, he had saw the man approach with Matthew in his arms and he was outraged.
Matthew laughed nervously when he saw this. "K-Kuma wants you to put me down so he can run you through..."
Ivan gave a nervous smile. "If that is what he intends to do, then I do not think I want to put you down yet."
"Just give me a moment to speak to him." He said before he started whistling in all sorts of tones and pitches, but all sounding like birds rather than what whistling normally sounded like. He barely used his lips on top of that. Ivan let Matthew talk with Kuma, staying quiet.
Kuma would reply in his own tones and body language, but didn't look like he was calming down.
At the end, the bird gave an angry sounding snort and used his eagle-like foot to grab Matthew by the arm and then pulled him out of Ivan's arms roughly.
Matthew stumbled, nearly face planting on the ground. "Kuma-" He wasn't able to finish as he was forced to stand up straight as the hippogriff looked him over. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, he proceeded in dusting him off like some child covered in dust. Ivan was surprised but let Kumajiro take Matthew from him, watching as the hippogriff began to fuss over Matthew like he was five.
"I'm fine so stop that." Matthew said with great irritation.
Ivan would have laughed a bit if he hadn't been worried about getting attacked by Kumajiro. Instead, he just stood there quietly watching them though he was tensed, ready to move quickly if he needed to.
Matthew scowled at Ivan. "This isn't what you think it is."
Ivan resisted the urge to laugh at his scowl. "Oh? What is it then?"
"Er.. well that-" He blushed. "N-not that you would know, but, here in Vernal it's the start of the summer s-so..." He paused looking rather embarrassed about explaining this to Ivan, which also confused him. Something like this wouldn't normally be this uncomfortable. "It's the prime time f-for mating. Especially for Kuma since he is part elk and part bird, both are quite finicky about display."
"Ah, I see. " He says nodding with a bit of a smile.
He pushed the hippogriff away. "Yes and he feels the need to press these urges onto me as well."
Ivan couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that. "Ah."
"Well anyway." Matthew went to put away the bread and jam away that had been left behind because of the fight but quickly noticed that both were gone. He whipped around so fast; he might as well be an owl. "KUMAJIRO!"
The hippogriff squawked and got ready to run if Matthew decided to chase him.
Ivan couldn't help but laugh at this. "Well to be completely fair Matthew, he had not eaten when we left and we did leave it sitting out."
Matthew's glare fell on Ivan now. "Ivan, he ate two hares last night. He doesn't need to eat until noon. And do you have any idea how long it takes to make jam and how much sugar?"
"No I don't." He says, stifling his laughter and just smiling widely in amusement.
"It's not funny! I only get a few jars a year!"
Kuma softly chirped and Matthew looked at him again still upset that Kuma couldn't control himself. He wasn't a fawn anymore.
"I apologize." He says, managing to get the grin down to just a slight smile. "It is just humorous to see you so upset at him over something so small. It is not like you will never get any jam ever again, yes?"
Matthew huffed and crossed his arms. "It's the closest thing to sweets I get..."
Ivan blinked and tilted his head a bit. "I could always request sweets when we reach the next castle you know." He says after a moment. "They will not deny me such a small thing, especially if it makes me leave them be faster."
"No, that is not necessary, but thank you."
Ivan chuckles a bit. "I am serious, all right? Even if they will not, I have more than enough money on hand to afford some real sweets."
"It's fine Ivan." He turned to look for where the jam jar went.
Ivan nodded and went to put his blades into his bag properly as he'd just shoved them in earlier.
After the jar was found, Matthew wasn't sure what they should do for the rest of the day.
Ivan suggested that while Francis was teaching him, they switch their routine up, travelling at night and resting during the day for the most part. That way they could still stay on the move and have lessons.
"Um... I don't know if I can become nocturnal." Matthew said softly with a frown.
"Perhaps we can give it a try tonight and if it does not work out we will figure out something else?"
"Alright, I'm willing to try."
Ivan smiled. "Then I suggest we try to rest up for the remained of the day so we are ready for tonight."
Matthew nodded and went to get his blanket, even if the sun was high in the sky.
Ivan sat down and leaned up against his pack, he would keep watch for a while before resting.
"Come on Kuma, if you don't sleep now, you'll be passing out on the road." Matthew curled up in the shade so he wouldn't cook.
)*(
The day passed calmly and come nightfall Ivan was awake and Francis was due to appear any minute now. The pair was still sleeping under the trees or rather were trying to.
Francis appeared minutes later. "Hello Ivan, Matthew." He says with a smile.
"Ah, there you are Francis." Ivan says looking up at him from where he was sitting.
"Hello..." Matthew mumbled and slowly sat up, he felt tired and weird to still be up. "How are you?"
"I am well, and you?"
"Good, but not used to being up at night." Matthew smiles.
Francis chuckles. "I can tell." He turned to Ivan. "The first few lessons will be nothing but speech so I'm assuming you wish to make up for lost ground while I teach?"
Ivan nods. "Yes"
"So should I get everything packed to travel?" Matthew asks.
Ivan nods again. "Yes, we will start as soon as you are ready."
It took Matthew a while to get the hippogriff up on his feet and saddled up but once that was done, he gave him an apple to calm him down.
Francis and Ivan waited patiently and when Matthew was all ready, the started walking in the direction they were headed. "Okay, first of all." Francis starts. "Can either of you tell me what one must do in order to form any sort of relationship with a stranger?"
"Talk to them?"
"Well yes, but that is not what I am speaking of. Ivan?" Francis says with a smile.
"...Introduce yourself?"
"Not quite but you are certainly closer to the correct answer. Come now, what happens when you make a friend? How do you go from acquaintance to friend?"
"Give them a gift?" Matthew didn't have any other ideas. What do you do to get to know someone that didn't involve talking or introducing yourself, Al would have said something ridiculous. Other than that... it was more on the bird side of things.
Francis gives a soft laugh. "No, no, my god it is so simple you two! You get to know them better."
Ivan blinked in surprise. "Ah."
"... That involves talking to them Sir. Bonnefoy." Matthew pouted.
"That is a part of it yes, but getting to know the other person also requires you to listen to what they have to say as well."
"A part?"
"Yes, a part. Talking to them will allow them to learn more about you but you can not learn about them unless you stop talking and listen to what they have to say as well."
"That's not what I meant."
"Please elaborate on what you meant then Matthew."
"I was asking if you were implying that there is more to getting to know someone than talking?"
Francis grinned. "But of course, once one gets to seducing one can get to know the other's body."
Matthew blinked and tilted his head, listening to see if there was more to this.
"By getting to know the other's body, I mean what they like and dislike. Where they like to be touched, how hard or soft they like pressure applied somewhere. What turns them on and off. And where extremely sensitive points on their body are." Francis grins and glances at Matthew's back pointedly.
Matthew felt uneasy all of a sudden but didn't know if it was about what was being said or the man's eyes.
Francis' eyes left his back after a moment. "Anyway, there are many ways to get to know the other better but before one can learn to seduce, one first must learn how to win a heart, to woo, flirt, and court."
"That sounds like a lot of things."
Francis chuckles at Ivan's words. "It does but they are all entwined with one another. We will start with learning how to build a relationship before moving on to other things."
"Good luck Ivan, I believe in you." He smiled and Kuma gave a small nod.
Ivan smiled a bit and nodded, just waiting for Francis to say what he was near positive the man would say.
Francis gives a soft laugh. "I will be teaching you as well my dear. A relationship requires participation from both parties."
"E-eh? B-but I'm only helping Ivan practice after you're done."
"The very fact I need to help at all means you do not have experience in this area so I might as well teach you too." He says with a smile. "And as I've said, a relationship, even a practice one, requires participation from both people."
"Alright. I-I said I would help, what do I have to do?"
"Okay, before I decide on what to start with, what all have you two been working on the last few weeks?"
"Just simple things like compliments and smiling."
Francis nodded and hums thoughtfully. "Hmm, a good start. Hmm, where to begin, where to begin…" He says, losing himself in thought for a few minutes, trying to decide where he should start to make these lessons flow as easily as possible.
Ivan just kept walking, leaving Francis to his thoughts. Matthew nervously waited, he was fearful for what the man would start on.
"Hmm, well let us just start with the basics of courting a woman and then we'll go from there." Francis says finally with a nod.
"So where do we start?"
"Well we have already covered the first basic, getting to know her. After that, you use what you've learned. If she likes something in particular, make a point in getting her a gift that she will like. For example if she likes… sweets, gift her with her favorite sweet. Or if she likes a certain activity or event, ask her if she would accompany you to it."
Ivan didn't respond with anything other than a nod. It might not have seemed like he was paying attention but he was.
)*(
The transition from being up at night rather than day took a big toll on Matthew. He found it almost impossible to sleep during the day; day hours were longer than night in Vernal on top of that, and he found himself nodding off as they walked.
Ivan noticed Matthew nodding off in the middle of Francis' explaining what they would be starting on next. He held up a hand for Francis to quiet for a moment. "Matthew, have you been sleeping well lately?" He asks, frowning at the boy lightly.
He perked up suddenly and looked over at Ivan. "Huh? Oh, no. Not really, sorry."
Ivan shook his head slightly. "Do not apologize." He says, pausing before asking. "Would you like to stop here for the night and get some rest?"
"We don't have to. If I need to I'm sure Kuma would let me nap on him."
"Matthew, we can stop for the night if you need to rest. The castle will still be there when we get to it even if we stop here for tonight."
He paused in thought for a moment before nodding. "I would like to, if it is not too much trouble."
Ivan nodded. "It is fine for us to stop here for the night. I do not mind." He says, stopping and stepping off the road they were on. "Let us set up camp over here so we do not block the road for other travelers."
Matthew was quick to drop everything down, get Kumajiro's pack off, and curl up with the beast with his blanket. Matthew was out within a few second.
Ivan started a campfire and sat back up against the tree. He told Francis to continue speaking so Francis obliged, explaining that next he would be teaching them dancing. Ivan arched an eyebrow skeptically at that but nodded. He then dismissed Francis with a wave and told him to see if he could go find a traveler or something to feed off of. Francis grinned and nodded, leaving quickly with a promise to return the next night. Ivan stayed up for a while before deciding to nap on and off.
Hey guys~! RQ here, I'm just wondering what stories you would like to see posted. I think we're getting to a point where we could have another going.
So those that haven't voted, tell me which story would you like next? Have a look at our profile page, I set up a poll :3
*I'll keep posting this until I close the poll. Poll ends on Aug 18/13*
-RQ