"Rita...! It's not polite to just spy on people..." Estelle tried to encourage her friend to reconsider, but most likely as she thought, it would fall on deaf ears.
"We've done it numerous times before with the others. What, you afraid I'll hurt the freak and the old man's feelings?" Rita said, giving her a pressing glare.
"Look... Tai's not really good with crowds; he's sort of mentally unstable when it comes to large people... the last time he was in a city, it went wrong," Estelle tried to explain, causing Rita to really wonder about him, "The last thing he needs is people spying on him."
"Estelle, normally I would back down, but... I don't trust Tai," the mage folded her arms with suspicious mannerisms, "He may be able to be social and okay talking, but the way he constantly acts and feels about everyone besides the old man... and how he absolutely refuses anyone to get near that glove, especially a blastia researcher like me to look at it, means that glove could hold dangerous ideas in his head."
"...Okay, fine, I'm going with you, but only to spy, not fight. Okay?" Estelle comprimised reluctantly.
With a silent nod, both girls rushed over to the billboard, which once had a warrant out for Yuri's arrest long time ago, and hid behind it. The bushes giving their legs cover, the girls crept their heads over the side to one side and looked over. It seemed like nothing was really happening; just Raven relaxing and looking up at the sky, while Tai was hunched over against the side of the bridge that connected the magistrate palace and the rest of the city.
"Ahh, what a beautiful day, eh, Tai?" Raven said, trying to cheer Tai up, "Ya know, it's days like this that ol' Raven could fine a gorgeous lady and go swimmin' with her."
A exhausted chuckle coming from the teen, it was quite clear it wasn't doing much good, yet it did spark a conversation that the girls never thought they would hear.
"Hey, Raven?"
"Yessir?"
"Remember that talk we had... about how you asked why I feel you're different from the others," Tai said, looking up, "Maybe I know why now."
"Yah? Well, then, lay it out on ol' Raven. What do ya think it is?" Raven looked over as he walked closer to him.
"Maybe it's because we both were mistreated about how we acted and were, you know what I mean? I mean... you know, right?" Tai struggled to say again.
"Hmmm, so what you're sayin' is, that because of how people treated ya because of your glove and how ya act, ya feel ya have a connection with me, right?" Raven said, getting a bit of a shifty look.
"Yeah... maybe that," Tai remarked bluntly.
"No, no, that can't be," the old man shook his head and used both hands to wave it off.
"Huh? Why's that?" Tai pushed off the safety handle of the bridge and faced him.
"Kid, I'm going to be frank with you, and being serious for once," Raven said, looking him deeply in the eye and letting Schwann come out for a second, "You are nothing like me. I don't mean that in a horrible and nasty way; I mean that as you do not want to associate your status as a person like me. I've done horrible things, Tai; rotten, hurtful, and betrayal. Things I'm still paying for, and to be honest, things I will never be able to."
This suddenly burst of seriousness coming out of Raven shocked the girls. After all, Raven was goofy, stupid, always cracking jokes, always about the ladies; never had they seen this part of him as Raven. They kept watching in awe as the two men kept talking.
"What things? Tell me," Tai said, pushing his way in, "I want to know what you're talking about. And you better start, or else, any attempts in the future of me opening up are gone."
Seeing the resolve of this teenager luring the pain out, Raven sighed, making his old classic 'old man can't believe this is happening' face, and reverted to his old self. He turned around, looking up into the sky and began.
"Heh, ya drive a hard bargain, pal. Well, I ain't gonna dive into everythin' in one fall swoop, but... I'm guessin' little Estelle told ya my previous identity is General Schwann, right?" he asked, and continuing once a comfirmed nod was given, "Well, skippin' some parts that are too hard ta explain right now, I was forced into blackmail by the previous commandant Alexei."
"Wait, that guy with the long gray hair?" Tai said, rubbing his head, "He visited Halure last year just to see the tree in bloom."
"Well, he was a bad guy, Tai," the teen was shocked to hear, "He forced me to kidnap Estelle... and I did horrible things to her and the group."
Estelle and Rita both closed their eyes, a mixture of pain and anger. They remembered what happened and how Raven was forced to fight the group to stall for time, how his life was owned by Brave Vesperia, and how Estelle was just some toy Alexei used. They watched as the teen slowly nodded.
"All right, I get it; you did some shit back in your time," Tai replied, folding his arms, "but that doesn't mean you should just let those guys trample on your honor."
"Tai, it was a lot worse than ya think," Raven turned to face him with a gentle smile.
"Then... tell me about it later, okay?" Tai said, slightly smiling back.
"Sure thing, kiddo, and we can talk about the other stuff as well," the old man grinning and held his head with his hands, "Anyways, ya feelin' better now? Ol' Raven could use a bed to relax these old bones."
"Hahaha! Sure thing," Tai said, nodding as they both started heading back to the inn.
Watching the two come over, Rita folded her arms disappointingly and said with an incredulous face, "Okay, that was a waste of time. I spy on them for Tai's secrets, and I get manly bonding?"
"Hehe, well, that's the price you pay for being sneaky, Rita," Estelle giggled, causing her friend to grumble with a blush.
As the men came over, they suddenly noticed the girls near the bulletin board. Suddenly surprised and looking at each other with fear of being found out, they struggled to find an excuse as they were approached.
"Now, now, ya two, what are the genius mage and the princess doin' in a place like this?" Raven asked, with a sly grin.
"Why is it your business on what we do, old man?" Rita snapped, partially blushing at being found out.
"We were looking at the board to see if any knowledge or tips of those blastia thieves were nearby," Estelle said, no stuttering or doubt in her voice.
"Yeah, that's right!" Rita said, clenched her fist up in agreement.
"Okay, what have you found?" Tai asked, tilting his head at them.
"Nothing so far," Estelle said, shaking her head, then changing the topic, "I wonder how the others are doing."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"All right, I have our rooms set up for the night. Now, all that's left is to find the knights that I need to find for my brigade," Flynn said, softly as he walked over to the other two and the dog waiting for them.
"So, who exactly are these two knights you're trying to get, Flynn?" Yuri asked, placing a hand on his hip.
"They're old friends of ours, Yuri; Hisca and Chastel," Flynn said with a cheerful grin.
Suddenly, Yuri and Repede's faces lighten up with excitement as the man exclaimed, "No way! They're actually here?"
"Woof woof WOOF!" Repede barked loudly.
"Yeah, I know, Repede," Yuri grinned looking down to his partner, "I can't wait to be able to see their faces again! It's been so long."
Poor Akihiro's face was riddled with loneliness and confusion as he stood and watched them talk about these two knights. Soon, the trio looked at him and forgot that he was apart of their group. Flynn took the liberty of saving him any more discomfort.
"Oh, Akihiro; my apologies for leaving you out of this conversation like that. To explain, Hisca and Chastel were knights in the same brigade as Yuri and myself when we first started," he said.
"Wait, Yuri was a KNIGHT?" Akihiro made a scrunched-up, disbelieving face at the long haired man, who sighed and shook his head with annoyance.
Ignoring the laughter that came out of Flynn, he said, "I still don't understand why people have a hard time believing that. Is it seriously that difficult for everybody?"
Despite the great opening to burn him with that huge open range for comebacks, the commandant continued, "Anyways, they were great friends of ours who traveled and fought with us. So, I thought since we are familiar with the two knights, we could get their help."
After about a few minutes, they soon saw a pair of twins walking towards them. Both with the usual knight garb, but it was deeper blue than the Flynn Brigade uniform. Both with red hair in ponytail and yellow eyes, they had red laces tied around their necks. Despite the fact one of them had bigger... of a chest size than the other, the two were barely able to be told apart.
"There they are," Yuri said, grinning a bit as he watched them come over, "Man, Hisca and Chastel look exactly the same as last time I saw 'em."
"Huh? But which one is who? I can't tell which twin is which," Akihiro said tilting his head.
A sudden blush came over Flynn's face as he muttered quickly to the boy before the twins came over, "The one with the bigger chest is Chastel, okay? Just... don't mention that about them at all, understood?"
Stifling giggles from Yuri and an awkward look yet soon joining the giggles from Akihiro, the women came over and stood in front of them.
"Flynn! Yuri!" Chastel squealed as she ran forward and hugged them tightly, "It's been soooo long! I'm so happy to see you!"
Seeing Repede bark to her, she bent down and scratched under his chin, causing the dog to smile FOR JUST A TINY SECOND and said, "Aww, I've missed you as well, Repede."
"Chastel!" Hisca called out loud, causing her sister to suddenly realize what she was doing, "You are speaking to the commandant; show protocol manners and respect!"
"Oh, right!" Chastel said, hurrying back in nervousness of being yelled at (making Yuri snicker a bit) and walking back to her sister, both saluted.
"Lieutenants Hisca and Chastel Aiheap reporting to your command, Commandant Scifo," Hisca said in a strict tone.
"At ease, my friends," Flynn said, smiling as he nodded, "It's perfectly fine to talk to me casually. You are some of my greatest friends after all."
Chastel smiled and gave a silly smile to her sister, "I told you he wouldn't mind it, sis."
Hisca snorted in anger, and folding her arms, looked away, "Well, excuse me for following standard knight protocol!"
After all the introductions were done...
"Heh, it's been a long time, you guys," Yuri said, winking at the two, "How have you been taken care of yourselves?"
"Oh, it's been the same. Go around the empire's continent, and 'pile up good deeds' as you put it," Hisca said, lightening up but smiling back at Yuri, knowing he was probably up to the same old antics he pulled in the past, "It's been very busy of late, especially here in Nor Harbor."
"I assume everything is okay here, then?" Flynn questioned.
"Yes, it's been rather boring, sir; no kind of trouble so far here," the woman replied.
"But there has been a pretty big handful of help from that saint, hasn't there, sis?" her sister asked and looked over to her.
"Whoa, wait, huh? Saint?" Yuri asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, right! You haven't been here for a while, you two," Hisca explained, "Apparently, there's this person going around different parts of the continent and stopping bandits and criminals from harming innocent people. Capua Nor has been calling him 'the Wandering Saint'."
"Wandering Saint, huh? Haven't heard of this man. How about you, Yuri?" the commandant shrugged and looked over to his best friend.
"I've heard only a few tales of him back at the lower quarter, but I don't really travel that much outside the capital anymore to hear too much about him. Whenever the captain and Judith pick me and Repede up to do guild jobs, we usually just go to Dhangrest," Yuri answered, looking back at the twins.
"Anyway, this saint person apparently refuses any kind of rewards, except a few food and drink items. Besides that, nobody really knows who he is, other than what he looks like," Hisca kept explaining.
"Really? You have a description of this man?" Flynn asked, all getting interested.
Chastel nodded and pulled out a piece of paper from her skirt pocket. She unraveled it and looked at it as she spoke.
"According to all the witness descriptions we could get," she read, "He was wearing a black sleeveless shirt and black loose trousers. He had mid-lengthish hair that was dark brown and spiky, with a fringe. His eyes were chestnut-brown and he was apparently just a teenager."
Being left out of the conversation for oh so terribly long, Akihiro suddenly popped up with his hand raised (like a kid from school would do to get permission to speak), and said, "Hey! Wait a minute!"
"Akio, what's up?" Yuri looked over and let him, all eyes on the boy.
"Akihiro," he grumbled back and then said, "I've seen a boy with that description... I think."
"Really?" Hisca asked, walking in front of him, "Can you tell us more?"
"Yeah, it was about a month and a half ago at Ehmead Hill," Akihiro closed his eyes, gritting his teeth a bit as he tried to jog his memory, "I live there, but that doesn't mean I don't go to Halure and Nor Harbor for some company. But one day, I remember this kid with that same clothing walking by the path after the broken blastia was cleared off."
"Are you absolutely sure?" Flynn asked, trying to get comfirmation.
"Yeah, I think so. I would've noticed if he came back and went towards Halure, but he never returned back," the boy opened his eyes and looked at him, answering to the best of his ability.
"Huh... I'd like to meet this 'Wandering Saint' guy, now," Yuri said, smiling as he maybe, just maybe would love to talk about getting this guy with Brave Vesperia.
"That's just it, though, Yuri," Hisca explained, "This 'Wandering Saint' only shows up where there's trouble or if he senses a villian nearby. Meaning, he'll only come out to protect peace and innocent civilians."
"I wonder when his next appearance will be..." Chastel said, wondering to herself aloud.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The other four were coming away from the billboard and toward the inn as they all stopped and looked around. There didn't seem to be anything in sight of any of their four friends, so they kept looking.
"Now where did they run off to?" Rita complained, as she tapped the ground impatiently with her foot.
"Now, now, Rita, remember yer blood pressure..." Raven said, trying to calm the angry beast.
"Don't tell me what to do, you old fart!" she snapped back, "It's not my fault that those idiots decided to ditch us and probably go fighting off some super bad monster or something dumb like that."
"Oh, come on, Rita. I'm sure they're around her somewhere..." Estelle said, trying to sound optimistic as she always was.
They kept searching, but all they saw were people that weren't them. That was all he needed. That one had dropped his guard, and he knew that this was the chance to take advantage of it. He waited for him to get closer, as he readied his two swords. Once Tai had gotten closer, he rushed out of the alleyway and ran towards him. The teen looking over and widening his eyes at the impact of what the attacker was about to do, he readied to dodge. Suddenly yanked into the alleyway, Tai had no choice but to go to the defensive.
The sword were swung close to each other, forcing Tai to duck. Waiting for him to attack again, he was thankful this attacker tried to stab the ground. It gave the teen a chance to roll backwards and get distance to look at his predator.
He was wearing a black sleeveless shirt under an open, dark blue coat which reached half-way down his thighs, and black loose trousers. He had mid-lengthish hair that was dark brown and spiky, with a fringe which was spiky too and was slightly diagonal towards his right eye. His eyes were chestnut-brown and he was apparently just a teenager.
"What the... Who are you and what beef do you got with me?" Tai asked, looking at the teen.
"I don't have to speak with a villian like you! Prepare yourself!" the boy yelled as he rushed at Tai with his swords ready to attack!
/\/\/\/\/\/\
How's that!? Hisca and Chastel from the Tales of Vesperia movie: First Strike. I hope I did a good job on trying to capture the two perfectly enough. I wanted to see if I could get them just right. But wait a minute... this Wandering Saint... He's not one of my OCS... it means... someone has gotten their man into my story and we're partners for a future idea. I won't tell you who that pen name is... until next chapter. But a hint... he's an writer who is in my favorites list... NOW KEEP READING!