Folie à Deux

Chapter 6: Reunion

A/N: I was so disappointed in Tales of Graces, even with the future arc tacked on. Gonna have to replay Abyss and Vesperia to make up for the lackluster plot and bland to downright dislikeable characters. Yep, I'm okay with this plan.

xxxxx

Judith stared over the edge of the Fiertia, taking in the landscape below with a calm, dreamy expression on her perfect face. They were drifting over the earth, heading towards a magnificent sunset. She loved the feeling of wind brushing against her skin as they soared through the sky. It was calming and familiar. If she could, she'd stay up amidst the clouds forever.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she murmured with a soft smile. The small boy popped his head up over the railing and nodded in agreement, his bright brown eyes wide in awe. No matter how many sunsets they had seen, the grandeur of nature was never anything short of spectacular. And the view! Nothing in Terca Lumireis could compare to a ship ride through the sky, piloted masterfully by a great big gentle friend.

He leaned a little further over the edge of the wooden surface. "If only Nan were here to see this," he said quietly, mesmerized by the oranges and pinks in the sky. His skin prickled slightly as he realized that the Krityan's magenta gaze had shifted towards him. "N-not that I don't enjoy traveling with just you, Judith!" he stammered quickly. "I… I actually like this a lot."

He rubbed the back of his neck as if he had said something embarrassing, though his words were wholeheartedly true. He'd grown comfortable with the Krityan beauty, but sometimes he still felt like a kid with a crush on his babysitter.

She smiled sweetly. "I like this arrangement as well," she said. "It's nice to have another traveling companion."

The sheepish smile on his face broadened into a grin. The words themselves hadn't meant all that much, but he knew – and she knew – that it was like being reunited with family.

Outwardly, the cool and composed woman was very different from the easily frightened and approval-seeking boy, but their outlooks weren't all the different. They both saw the world with new eyes each day. Nothing ever got old, and nothing was ever taken for granted. In that sense, they were unlike the others: Estelle was fascinated by novelties, constantly looking to learn something new; Rita's mind was fixed not in the present but on the future, always a step ahead and calculating how to get there; nothing was new anymore to Raven with his worn down heart and jaded eyes; and Yuri didn't much care for aesthetics or details in the first place, only wanting for things to change. Judith, though, was attuned to the minutest of cues, finding beauty in all things great and small, and for Karol, each day was a new opportunity - each day with his friends, his guild, and his place in the world was a day to be cherished.

The two had run into each other in Dahngrest, both finishing up with individual assignments. As they hugged they realized just how much they had missed one another, and it seemed only natural to undertake tasks for Brave Vesperia together again.

Judith placed a hand on the little guild leader's head and lightly ruffled his hair. Though he tried not to show it, he was positively beaming. Even now, although he was with Nan (or perhaps because he was with Nan), it was rare for him to receive overt signs of affection. It was equally rare for Judith to show affection so genuinely and openly, but Karol could bring that out in her. He was the kid brother she'd never had, and she filled something of a maternal role that had been missing in his life for so long.

"Hey, Judith… what do you suppose Yuri's up to right now?" Karol asked, worry creeping into his voice.

"Hmm. The last time I saw him, he was heading to Dahngrest to do some jobs for the guild on his own," she replied. She didn't think it necessary to add that it had been the night after she'd propositioned him in his hotel room.

Karol crossed his arms and said, "He could have just come with us! It would have been easier that way!" The look in his eyes said, 'I wish we were all together again.'

"Indeed," Judith murmured.

"Do you… do you think Yuri ever gets lonely?" Karol asked, eyebrows knitting.

She met his eyes. "Yes, I imagine he does," she said earnestly.

"That idiot," Karol muttered, launching into a mumbled tirade about their absent guild member. Yuri was his idol, his role model; he was everything Karol wasn't. As time passed, though, Karol came to realize that he wasn't perfect and his actions weren't always the best to take. The boy was growing up, and a part of that meant questioning others, even – or especially – Yuri. "Doesn't he trust us? Why can't he just talk to us?"

He was mostly grumbling to himself, and so she turned her attention to the sunrise over the vast plains and scattered forests, chatting lightly with Ba'ul. She never ceased to marvel at just how much she could see from the sky, far preferring this view to any rooted in the ground. The trees below swayed gently in the breeze, monsters rampaged through the grass; she could even see a small group of people in the distance.

"Stupid lone wolf act, thinks he's so cool … Reputation around Dahngrest as a drunk will reflect poorly on the guild! Oh no, we're gonna lose business … Acting like a jerk, how the heck's he supposed to win her over? … Right into his arms, and …"

"Karol," Judith interrupted.

"I mean sure he's his best friend, but—"

"Karol," she repeated again a little more sharply and he fell silent, his head perking up. She walked to the other side of the deck and leaned over the railing, motioning for him to join her.

"Look over there," she said, pointing towards something in the distance. "See those three people over there?"

The boy peered over the railing, eyes widening. "Enemies? Hunters? Thieves?"

She looked at him and smiled in a way that told him it was none of those. She shook her head. "Friends," she said. 'Family,' she meant.

xxxxx

The deck of the Fiertia was chilly but calm. Karol had finally fallen asleep after hours of constant worrying, while Yuri was dead set on continuing to watch over the unconscious mage in the cabin with his sullen expression. The old man and the Krityan beauty were just as concerned as the others, but both knew there was nothing they could do for her until they got to Zaphias and so instead spent the time lazily counting stars and catching up.

"It's got to be Estelle," Judith said, drawing a knee towards her body. "He must regret having been so harsh with her, but just doesn't know how to apologize."

"And losin' her ta his best friend. That's gotta sting," Raven mused. "But the real question is, what caused him ta act that way in the first place?"

"I wonder," she sighed. "It probably started, oh, a couple months ago?"

The old man shook his head, his shaggy greying hair coming loose from its tie. "Only ta us unobservant folk. The Princess swears he's been slowly pushin' her away for far longer than that, and she would know – always watchin' over him. Poor girl, prob'ly suffering 'cause he's just too damn scared ta admit he likes her."

Judith rested her head on her knee. "But it's plain to see she adores him."

He gave a wry smile. "That doesn't have anythin' ta do with it, Judith darlin'."

She waited for him to continue, but he left the gap unfilled. "I can't imagine why not then. …Although I suppose I've never been much good at empathizing with others," she admitted.

"Oh?" He raised his eyebrows. "Well I betcha can tell what I'm feelin' right now," he said with an exaggerated wink. She cocked an eyebrow and returned a sly smile, daring him to go further. "Judith, baby, you're just too hot ta handle."

"I'm onto you, you know," she said lightly. "You always do that when we start talking about something you want to evade."

"Huh? Well, if that's what it takes ta get you onto me…"

Judith paused for a moment, levity dissipating. "You know what's going on in his head, don't you? You were there at one point. You were just like him."

"Oh, I dunno. I mean, the Princess is cute 'n' all, but I prefer a woman with more…"

"Will he be okay?" Judith interrupted before he got around to crude hand gestures.

Raven's face sobered and he nodded. "'Course he will. The kid's tenacious as all hell; he'll get over whatever's eatin' him."

She accepted the answer and didn't pry further. She had her secrets and he had his.

After a brief moment of silence, she spoke again. She wasn't normally the chatty type, but she had missed the easy yet insightful conversations they had grown used to sharing. "Karol sure has grown up, hasn't he?" she said, eying the boy on the other end of the deck. He looked as small as ever, swathed in a pile of blankets on the deck, but his personality had matured far beyond his years.

A lazy smile came to Raven's scruffy face. "He's a smart kid, smarter than the rest of us in a lotta ways." He had no problem admitting it; in fact, it made him quite proud.

"Yes. When we were traveling he asked a lot of very good questions. I think I learned more from our conversations than he did," the deep-haired beauty admitted. "I think he knows more about love than the rest of us in Brave Vesperia put together."

Raven laughed. "You're prob'ly right, but not to worry. It'll come, darlin'," he said with a wink. "Estelle just needs a little luck on her side, and Yuri and Rita just need to figure out how to cope with their emotions. And you, sweetheart, you just haven't spent enough time around people yet. …An' by people, I mean me," he added, grinning.

She smiled as she rolled her eyes. "Haven't you had about three lifetimes worth of interacting with people by now, Old Man?"

"Good point. But this ol' heart's nothin' but rock at this point," he shrugged. Judith shook her head.

"No more full of rocks than your head, I'd imagine," she said sweetly. "It still works, doesn't it? It's probably just a little rusty."

"Heh. Guess you could say I've forgotten, and maybe you've just never known in the first place," he summed up. "Gotta hand it to the kid. Wherever he learned it from, it sure ain't from role models like us."

"Yes… he said to me it always seems our words say one thing while we really mean another. He asked why it was so hard to just be forthright and honest, and I found that I couldn't give him an answer," she said, pursing her full lips ever so slightly.

"We're just a bunch of trained liars," Raven said, gazing up at the stars, and Judith found she could give no objection.

xxxxx

"Estelle," a familiar voice gasped, panting from the doorway. Dark hair hung limply from his face, his frame supported by the archway as his ragged breathing continued.

"Yuri?" She asked it like a question but there was nobody in the castle who called her by her nickname, and it wasn't as if she could ever mistake that voice of his anyway.

It certainly wasn't the way she'd expected to see him again. He was a wreck.

She was an angel by contrast, prim and proper and dressed to the nines. She dropped her pen and pushed her chair aside and ran towards the doorway. The sound of her heels as they clicked gently against the tile was deceptively calm.

His breathing hitched as her hands found his shoulders.

"Yuri, what's—"

"Rita," he choked out as his tongue untangled. "You have to save Rita!" Without a thought, in a swift rough gesture he grabbed her hand and they began running before Estelle could ask any questions.

They ran quickly through the marble corridors, ignoring the pointed stares of the knights as the rogue led the lady without a whit of caution. He barely caught her when she tripped over her gown, the two of them stumbling into the spare room like a two-man circus.

"Rita!"

The girl was deathly pale, skin and bones, lying atop the mattress like it were an open coffin. The princess's deep green eyes went wide as she dropped to the side of the bed. "Yuri… what happened?" she gasped as she began to cast a healing arte.

He began to explain as best he could, uncharacteristically fumbling over the words. "I found her in the Ruins… where she was studying… with Repede—"

"Rita was studying with Repede?" she mumbled, eyes not wandering from her point of focus.

"No, he found her… It sounded like she'd been there for days like that—"

"Like what?" she interrupted patiently.

"I dunno… sick," he offered lamely.

"Symptoms, Yuri," she pressed expectantly.

"No clue," he shrugged.

"This is important, Yuri!" Estelle exclaimed. "Wasn't she conscious when you found her?"

"Yeah, but we didn't talk about…"

"You're impossible, Yuri," she shook her head. "What on Terca Lumireis were you talking about, then?"

He laughed harshly. Dreams. Feelings. Estelle. "Look, she wasn't conscious most of the time. She had a fever and was coughing, and seemed pretty out of it, alright?"

She sighed and took a deep breath, focusing all her energy on the girl before her. She wasn't accustomed to healing illnesses, but she'd found herself able to do so before back when she had trained with that doctor in Aurnion. She let the light envelop her and, using her hands, channeled the healing winds towards Rita's body.

Yuri watched on, unable to bring himself to leave just yet. Estelle was acutely aware of his presence; the tension in the air was so thick it was hard to catch her breath. Her hands began to tremble.

"Estelle," Yuri interrupted after a few minutes. "Look. I…"

"Please don't interrupt me," she said, the light wavering at the sound of his voice. If she had turned, she'd have seen a rare dumbfounded expression upon his face, but she didn't dare meet his gaze.

"I need to talk to you," he said. His voice seemed strained, every word fighting its way from his lips. Could she hear the desperation in his voice?

"Please, Yuri. Not now," she said, biting her quavering lip. Did he think her cold, or could he hear her voice shaking? Did he even know the effect he had on her? "I need to concentrate. Please go," she half-whispered.

He stared at her, drinking in the scene before him, her image etched into his mind. "As you wish," he said quietly as he opened the window and jumped.