Chapter XXXVII: A Knight's Honor
Ragna slowly opened his eyes before immediately covering them with his arm as bright sunshine hit his light-sensitive morning vision. Giving a low groan, he extended his body in his bed to give himself a quick stretch before rising and drowsily heading towards the window. The sunshine seemed especially bright today, even more so when comparing it to the storm that the Reaper had fallen asleep to. Aside from the water puddles on the streets, there was barely a sign of the storm that had taken place the day prior. Even the clear blue sky with barely a cloud blocking the bright sunshine seemed to promise a beautiful day in the kingdom. That was all well and good to Ragna… but he had a more pressing issue from yesterday to worry about.
"Let's see here…" Ragna muttered as he raised as right arm and channeled his darkness into it. As expected, he managed to create a violent black flame which shrouded over the artificial appendage, currently without resistance or struggle. He let the flame fade after a few moments, content that whatever had been setting it off the day prior had finally passed. "Well that's one thing taken care of… should probably check up on my guest."
After throwing some more common clothing on (Ragna had made a point to wash his regular clothes before heading out for the day), the Reaper headed down the hallway to the guest room that he'd let Aversa stay in after the rather emotional talk that they'd had the night prior. The door was shut so he knocked on it a few times, earning no response.
"That's odd; thought she'd be up at least," Ragna muttered to himself before knocking again. "Aversa? Aversa? If you're in there say something." Again no response, so Ragna moved to open the door and… hesitated. "...This is going to turn into one of the overdone cliches where she's not able to hear me and when I open the door I catch her in the middle of dressing, isn't it?" The threat aside the Reaper slowly opened the door and covered his eyes to at least show Aversa that he meant well. "...Aversa?"
Luckily (or unluckily depending on how you're shipping at this point), it turned out that the dark magic user wasn't in her room. In fact with the already made bed it didn't even look like she'd spent the night there. Somewhat confused, Ragna checked the library and drawing rooms and still found no sign of the mage. Checking downstairs though, he entered the kitchen and found a plate of still warm breakfast goods prepared for him along with a note placed beside it.
"What's this then?" he muttered as he took the paper and began to read.
To my Master,
Reading that heading alone, Ragna knew he needed to talk to Aversa soon and come up with a better title for their odd relationship.
I'm sorry that you missed me this morning, but I'd managed to arise earlier than I'd expected to. I was going to wake you, but you look so adorable when you're sound asleep that I didn't have the heart.
"S-she was watching me sleep?" Ragna asked himself with a rising red on his cheeks. "I… I must've been really out of it then…"
That aside, I actually decided that I'd save us both a bit of embarrassment in explaining that I spent the night here to your fellow Shepherds. Fun as it was to tease you about it last night, I can at least be a LITTLE reasonable in getting my entertainment out of you.
It was a nice gesture, but the end note made it clear that Ragna wasn't required to thank her.
In all seriousness though, you likely have no idea how much I appreciate you hearing me out last night. I slept far better last night than I have in recent memory, even without that dream suppressing remedy I had worked hard to find.
"Alright… that's what was really worrying me," Ragna muttered as he sat himself and began eating while he continued reading his message.
I know that this new… agreement might not be the most convenient thing for you with everything else that's been happening, so for now I suggest that we continue as if nothing's actually changed. Perhaps after the ball we can address this more directly and find a more permanent solution? At present I'm happy enough just to have you to follow and give my life proper direction once more. With your busy lifestyle I doubt I'll see you before the ball, but make sure to save me a dance at the very least, will you?
I hope you find this note and the breakfast I've prepared with it before it's gone cold. I'm a competent enough cook, so I hope you enjoy what I've made…. Though If I'm to be serving you in the future, I would like some idea on your favorite foods.
From your loyal servant, Aversa
"So nothing's changed then… for now at least," Ragna mutters to himself after he'd looked over the note a second time and finished his meal. "Can't say I understand everything that's going through her mind… but I guess as long as she's happy that's enough for right now." A knock on his front door interrupted the Reaper's thoughts. Pocketing the small piece of paper, he headed to the front door and found a familiar face waiting for him.
A Proud Friend
"Good morning," Frederick the Wary said to him, having the same serious look upon his face as he always did. He was wearing his armor as usual, which made Ragna realize that he couldn't remember a time when the Great Knight wasn't wearing it.
"Morning," Ragna said in turn to the knight before smirking. "What? I don't rank high enough to call me 'milord' or a 'sir'?"
"I doubt you'd like to be addressed with either of those titles," the Great Knight said, calling Ragna's bluff.
"All the more reason for you to use 'em, ain't it? Come on, what's really going on?" he asked the knight.
"...Chrom has… recently he's asked that I make an attempt at being less… less of a mother hen to him as he's called it… Apparently he feels like I've taking to performing my duties a bit too thoroughly as of late and he thinks it was high time that the matter was changed."
"Sounds kind of tough, especially for someone like you," Ragna noted, feeling it would be a little funny if he could try to take advantage of the situation, but deciding that Frederick's pride had already been wounded enough having to present himself to Reaper like this. 'Let no one say I'm not merciful when I try to be.' "Come on inside, just about to get a pot of coffee going for myself anyways."
"I appreciate the gesture, but I'm afraid I've only come to deliver a message," Frederick told him.
"Ah come on, Chrom's trying to get you to relax a little and I don't think a cup of coffee will kill you… besides I kinda have something important to ask you."
"Well… I don't think a quick cup would hurt if you're offering," the knight eventually accepted, following Ragna into his estate. "How are you liking your new accommodations?"
"Well enough, I know Chrom and Robin did a lot by giving me this place… but it's taking a little to adjust to the whole having a home idea. At least it's not impossible to keep clean." Ragna then showed Frederick into the kitchen and began preparing his brew. "So what brings you here then? Something about a message?"
"Sully was the one that originally trying to get the message to you, but since she wasn't able to find you yesterday she was feeling rather…"
"Pissed?" the Reaper guessed with a smirk.
"...An apt description, if on the slightly vulgar side," Frederick admitted.
"Which fits her perfectly," Ragna noted, this time Frederick couldn't argue with him. "So… any idea what she wants?"
"Not a clue, only that she quickly wrote this letter and asked me to give it to you in something of a huff," Frederick told him as he handed him the letter. "Ever since she couldn't find you yesterday, all she's been doing is training herself to near exhaustion to blow off steam… it hasn't been working."
"Heh heh, sounds exactly like her…" Ragna said as he took the letter and set it on the table, deciding to read it later. "Back to what I wanted to ask you earlier...It alright if it's something a bit more personal?" At Frederick's nod Ragna tried to find the best way to phrase his question. "Are you… you know, happy serving Chrom?"
"Excuse me?" Frederick asked, his face showing no signs of changing, but his tone set off by something. "I mean… I'm very proud to be serving milord and-"
"That's not what I meant," Ragna cut him off. "I ain't asking if you're proud… just if you're happy."
"I… have never actually given much thought to it," Frederick decided as he mulled it over. "...Had I any other master, who could say? But Prince Chrom's always been both kind and just; he's gone quite far in the time since I've known him… and I suppose I always do feel happy when I see his progress in full."
"Sort of a he succeeds, you succeed thing?" the Reaper suggested as he mulled it over for a moment, trying to pertain that to Aversa. "...Thanks for hearing me out; there's something I've got going on and I kinda need to hear about this stuff from someone in your shoes."
"I'm unsure how you plan to apply what little I've told you, but I suppose I'm happy to help all the same," Frederick told, giving the Reaper an oddly thankful smile. "Also… I think it's time that I thanked you."
"Thanked me? For what? I haven't exactly done a whole heck of a lot for you," Ragna reminded him.
"True, but as you said earlier when Chrom succeeds I have a sense that I succeed and you've done plenty to help my lord," the Great Knight told him. "I've brought issue with your methods of choice plenty of times in the past, but I don't think a soul can deny the results that they've brought us… as a Knight of Ylisse and as a member of the Shepherds I'm proud to stand alongside you."
"Heh heh, thanks Freddy," the Reaper told him with a chuckle.
"Though if you could instead call me by my proper name…" the Great Knight began.
"Not a chance in hell," Ragna told him, chuckling at his friend's expense as Frederick gave him that familiar small scowl. Eventually though "Freddy" just rolled his eyes and gave the Reaper an exasperated smile.
Support Rank A Obtained with Frederick
Frederick didn't stay long at all after he'd finished his coffee, insisting to Ragna that he had drills to lead back at the barracks. He'd bid Ragna a good day and had headed off shortly afterwards, leaving him alone with the second letter he'd gotten that day. Figuring it was better to open it than to hold off and get Sully even angrier than she usually was, Ragna opened the letter and began to read.
Where were you yesterday bastard!?
"...You know, getting called Master in letters is starting to grow on me for some reason," Ragna muttered to himself sarcastically at Sully's vulgar introduction line.
I looked around the city for you all damn day yesterday and I didn't find a sign of you anywhere! This letter had damn well better reach you or I'm going to be double pissed at your ass! ...Look, just come and find me at the Shepherds barracks after dinner. I got something pretty important to show you then… and if you don't show up I'm ripping your spine out your *Carnage Scissors!* before I *Dead Spike!* it with my *Inferno Divider!
"...What… the… HELLLLLLLLL!?" Ragna shouted at the top of his lungs staring wide eyed at the message he was sent by the knight.
So long story short, don't miss me a second time… In fact head over to the barracks as soon as you get this message, that way I can keep an eye on you and make sure you're not trying to avoid me. I'll run ya into the ground if you are.
Your friend, Sully
"This is a letter from a friend? If Kokonoe had ever sent me a letter, this sounds like something she would write…" Ragna then gave a sigh, knowing Sully meant well. "I guess I should head over to the barracks then… first though, I think I oughta get a quick fire started."
Later -The Shepherd's Barracks-
"How sloppy was I? These notes are pathetic," Aversa grumbled to herself as she looked over her previous research into the realm of magic (dark and otherwise) that she had been working on over the past few months. While Aversa knew that she had to be precise in her note taking, previous… events had hindered her ability to study and it had started to cost her dearly. "If I'd tried to cast my more advanced spells with this information I'd have killed myself a dozen times over… I'll have to start from scratch then." Glancing over to the far corner of her room, she also caught sight of her practice spear, something that she hadn't so much as touched in months. "And then there's that to work on…"
While Aversa may have lost her Pegasus long ago (certainly long enough for a few reviewers to forget anyways), she still considered herself a user of the Dark Flyers style of fighting… if she was slightly more grounded now. She'd yet to be in a real fight since the conflict in Plegia, so she considered herself someone that was sorely lacking in practice. Figuring that she'd at least try and fix the more physical side of her fighting style, she stood from her desk and headed for the door pausing for a second as she noticed something on the wall.
"I'd better clean that up soon," she noted as she looked to the mess she'd made last night; a spilled mug of vile smelling liquid and a bag of herbs now spilt over the floor. Even Panne's special Dream Suppressing herbs hadn't proved potent enough to stifle the nightmares that she suffered through on a nightly basis. After last night's events though, she was becoming confident that she wouldn't need such a mixture ever again. Smirking to herself somewhat cockily at the idea, she headed out of her room and down towards the training grounds. Upon arriving, she saw that she wasn't alone.
"Fancy seeing you here," Cordelia greeted as she held a practice spear, standing off to the side and watching Olivia practicing her spearwork on one of the training dummies. "I was beginning to think that you'd given up your Spear."
"Not in the slightest; I've just noticed I've researched a bit too much into the dark arts lately," Aversa said in kind before directing her attention to Olivia. "Though I never imagine our young and attractive dancer would start picking it up."
"I didn't either, but apparently she's hoping to become more versatile in her place on the battlefield, even to the point where she's considering taking lessons as a Pegasus rider," the redhead informed as Olivia continued to strike her practice dummy with decent speed and accuracy but needed work on her power. "If you think about it, it's not that much different than when I started sword training with Ragna."
"I suppose not…" Aversa said before giving a small and teasing smile. "Though I'd always thought you'd begun taking up the sword just to spend a little more time with our favorite Reaper."
"Th-that is… I mean…" Cordelia tried to say.
"What are you two talking about?" Olivia asked as she came over to the two of them, apparently having already finished with her routine.
"Oh, we were just talking about our favorite little details of Ragna," Aversa lied, teasing Cordelia further and causing Olivia to listen carefully. "Cordelia seems to admire those big strong arms of his, especially when they're wielding that giant weapon." The Pegasus rider tried to intervene, but Aversa was already continuing. "On my side I happen to like how red his flustered face can get, it's something that I haven't gotten tired of seeing as of yet."
"O-Oh…" Olivia said, thinking to herself before smiling with a blush of embarrassment on her face. "I… I sort of like that gentle side that he's often hiding. You know, the part of him where he's a little calmer and a little more softly spoken. It's not something that you often see, but it's nice..." Neither Aversa nor Cordelia said a thing in response, only staring at Olivia and giving her the impression that she'd said something wrong. "Um… what are you…?"
"I had been lying earlier, but…" Aversa shook her head. "That's quite a confession I'm hearing from you." Realizing she'd been tricked; Olivia's slight blush became at least a dozen times deeper.
"I-I-!" she tried to say in her defense, but the words weren't coming close to forming anything coherent.
"Aversa, quit teasing Olivia after she's said something so heartfelt," Cordelia tried to scold the dark magic user, leaving the dancer at least a little relieved that she had someone coming to her defense. "Besides, there is some truth to your comment on making him flustered, isn't there?"
"...Guilty as charged I suppose," Aversa admitted with a nonchalant shrug. "Back to a more pressing business Cordelia, I see that you've been working hard to earn your title of Falcon Knight."
'Ragna's been a pretty pressing business as of late…' Olivia thought to herself, reflecting on the Reaper's return and her own personal time with him.
"I have been; Sumia and I have both been practicing our maneuvers with the heavier armor on our mounts. It hasn't been easy, but we've been making progress, slowly but surely. Oh, and we've also managed to work on using healing staves while we've been flying."
"A mix of very useful skills to be sure, but have you ever considered walking the path of a Dark Flyer?" Aversa questioned.
"You mean like you used to be?" Cordelia asked. "I… I honestly haven't given much thought to it…"
"Well do you know any magic?" Aversa suggested. "The ability to fly through the air and strike with spellcraft is a difficult one to master, but utilized properly the combination can be utterly devastating to one's opponents… and that's without tapping into the sacred ability known as Galeforce."
"Galeforce? I'm afraid I have no such knowledge of that ability," Cordelia admitted. "I… I know that great Falcon Knights of the past have often been known to wield spears with great efficiency and devastation, so much so that they don't even have to be mounted atop a Pegasus to cut through hordes of their enemies."
"Well my Galeforce technique works in much the same way, save for the benefits you reap," Aversa explained. "When you fell an opponent in the battlefield, the ability fills you with a sense of heightened adrenaline and speed that you can use to shred through opposing forces… it's quite the ability. I can certainly see the both of you benefiting from it."
"Perhaps, but… I'm still learning how to fly a Pegasus, and my magic casting isn't that great," Olivia informed. "It… it sounds like it would take quite some time."
"It would… but I've noticed that whenever someone is training with Ragna their growth seems to be intensified, even if it's not a set of skills that he's familiar with," she suggested slyly.
"I mean…" Cordelia began fidgeting her fingers nervously. "I guess that does make sense and… I would like to train with him… at least a little more."
"A little more what?" came the Reaper's voice behind her, immediately startling the Pegasus knight and causing her to leap in her place. "...Bad timing?"
"Y-You scared me!" Cordelia yelled at him with a scowl. "How long have you been listening in?"
"Haven't, just got here in fact." Now that she was facing him, Ragna could observe that there was a clear blush upon her face. Passing a glance at Olivia he could very easily see that she was very much the same way. He scowled he turned to Aversa, the usual guilty party for something like this. "What've you been telling them?"
"My dear friend, whatever could you be talking about?" Aversa told him with her same sultry smile, giving him a wink as slyly tapped her index finger to her lips indicating that she'd remained quiet about their agreement. Ragna rolled his eyes. "So then, what brings you to the barracks today?"
"Got a letter from Sully that was… well it was pretty damn clear that Sully was the one that wrote it," he told them, leaving it clear what kind of a message it was. "Apparently she wanted to meet me about something after dinner… but if I don't want to be on her bad side I'll be sticking around the barracks from now until then."
"Sounds like you've been kept pretty busy then," Olivia said to him. "Have you taken any time to yourself, then?"
"Yesterday, kind of… but then the weather was pretty crappy wasn't it?" Ragna reminded with a sigh. "Anyways did you need my help with something?"
"...Not just yet, but maybe a little later," Cordelia told him before pointing him off. "Go on, walk around and enjoy yourself, do what you want for once."
"That supposed to be an order? You know I pretty much outrank all of you at this point," Ragna told them with a smirk, obviously only using his authority to try and get off some well-deserved teasing.
"It's an order!" Olivia said as she joined in pointing Ragna off, but with a little more flair in her pose than Cordelia had. Turning his attention to the final of the three, Ragna only watched as Aversa flicked her wrist and pointed, indicating for him to walk off.
"...Yes dear," he muttered sarcastically as he turned a left, leaving the three to blush at his phrasing, but still smile nonetheless.
"As fun as that was, it does strike me as a bit odd that you two would send him off after making it quite clear the happiness you both get out of spending time with him, so why send him off at all?"
"Well Ragna does have his own life to live; it wouldn't exactly be kind to him if I forced him into everything that I wanted him to do," Cordelia told the Dark Flyer.
"Not only that, but there are also plenty of other people in the Shepherds that want to spend time with him and he'd want to spend time with; it's not fair if we don't give them the chance," Olivia confirmed.
"...And it wouldn't bother you if he's spending time with other women?" Aversa asked, her sultry smile once again returning. "Happy to see that you're both confident enough in your… standings."
"What you implying?" Cordelia demanded suspiciously.
"Oh, nothing at all my dears. Though I think it's time that we moved onto practicing some magic casting for today's lessons," she told the both of them. 'This should be interesting… I wonder what he'll eventually decide on… He's certainly making for an entertaining master…'
Noticeable Improvements
"Let's see… what to do now?" Ragna began as he walked through the training grounds, passing by the occasional Shepherd like Lissa and Elphelt Valentine (remember she was here?) practicing their spells and Virion practicing his marksmanship, predictably enough striking a pose with every hit he scored upon the target. "Everyone around here seems to be getting along well enough in their practice… hm, is that-? Kellam!"
For the second time that day Ragna had ended up startling someone, as was evident in Kellam's sudden jolt in his practice swing at a training target. Though the attack still hit the target, Ragna felt a little guilty as he saw the practice axe swerve to only make partial contact.
"Sorry if I scared you," the Reaper apologized, scratching the back of his head guiltily. "Something up? You seem kind of jumpy…"
"That's not it; I'm just still a little unused to anyone calling me out… or noticing me at all really," the large knight told him. Getting a better look at his friend, Ragna saw that Kellam had adorned his armor and shield with several weights to increase the mass he was carrying as well as switch his usual lance out for an axe.
"Kind of a shitty thing to hear, especially seeing you like this," Ragna tells him. "You've really been putting the work in… even if no one can notice your progress."
"Oh, a few people have… noticed…" Kellam told him. "It's sort of an odd instance though; half the time they think that I've always been training like this while the other half… well they're relieved because they thought that they forgot me back in Plegia."
"...Okay, now that's just cruel," Ragna groans.
"Eh, I don't mind; I've actually been something of a local legend, The Ghost of The Shepherds," Kellam told him, noticing Ragna as he gave a slight cringe. "You don't like it?"
"Honestly? Not a fan," Ragna admitted, evidently still having a slight phobia of ghosts (despite the number of times he's come dangerously close to becoming one). "So… what's with the axe? I thought you usually just used spears."
"That's just another something to hopefully improve on…" Kellam told the Reaper as he looked at his practice weapon. "Many of the strongest armored knights are known to wield a mix of both lances and axes so I was hoping to do the same."
"...Or you were hoping people might notice you if you had to close the gap to fight them with an axe," Ragna told him bluntly, not to be mean but rather to bring the true reasoning to light so Kellam didn't have to.
"That… was one reason," the armored mystery admitted.
"Heh, I kinda figured but it's not like there's a problem with that," Ragna told him with a friendly smirk. "And all of those weights that you're wearing; those are there so that you can move faster, right? That or you can use even heavier armor without a problem."
"More of the second, but I'm sort of hoping to work on the first if I can," he admitted.
"Want some help then? I can give you a real work out," the Reaper told him cockily. Not even waiting for Kellam to give a response, he headed over towards the weapons rack and grabbed out a two handed practice sword which he carried effortlessly in a single hand.
"I guess I do need some help," Kellam admitted. "Even when I spar with someone, since they can't notice me all that ends up happening is I end up fighting someone who's practically blindfolded."
"Good, which means I'll have to go hard on you if I'm going to make this work!" Ragna promised, leaving Kellam to cringe slightly as he knew the Reaper's powers. 'Now I see why Jubei always put me through the wringer… it is kinda fun to watch a new student go through hell.'
Support Rank B Obtained with Kellam
The sparring with Kellam didn't last all that long, but Ragna was more than satisfied with the results of the fight by the end of their match. True he hadn't gone at anywhere close to his full speed, but Kellam's skill combined with his shield and armor had provided a proper defense that would fend of Ragna's attacks as well as any member from the Shepherds could hope to accomplish. To make sure that they were practicing everything Kellam was hoping to accomplish, the two had sparred with him wielding both an axe and a spear, making sure his proficiency with both weapons evened out. With nothing else to do at the moment, Ragna switched to some of his own exercises; practice swinging at the air and hoping to put the slightest touch of control and form on his erratic fighting style.
Meanwhile -Ylisse Castle-
"Ugh… No, that table pattern won't work; the duke of Everlode simple refuses to be at any event with a Lion present in the banners and the Duke of Revlestol can't stand the color purple flying in the banners," Robin told the maids as they showed the most recent symbols for the ball. "I thought I sent you a list of all of the symbols that the nobles were known to detest or have obvious grudges against."
"L-Lady tactician, we did look upon the list…" the head of the maids said in response. "The issue is… these symbols were the ones that had the least roots in rivalries or blood hatred… There was now one way to include a symbol that wouldn't anger at least one noble and any color flown usually held a meaning against several of them..."
"I...I'll have to come to a decision myself then…" Robin told the maid and her three assistants with a sigh. "Thank you with helping thus far, just… I don't know, help with the decorations that no one in their right mind would want to complain about. I'll have to work this out myself." Bowing to the Royal tactician, the maids spread out to continue their duty as Robin was left with a sample cloth which she was unable to decorate with.
"I'm afraid that this is far from the easiest of tasks you could have chosen," one former Exalt said as she made her way into the grand hall. "I've organized a few of these balls and there's usually one group that will take some form of offense with the decorations. Almost none of them end with a scene being made, but there are always whispers…"
"And even something as little as a few whispers is something that I can't afford to start," Robin said with a sigh. "About everyone in the nobility knows that Chrom and I are responsible for planning this event; as easy and more fulfilling as it would be to simply use our own designs and keep things simple, realistically I shouldn't put any strain on noble relations considering we don't know whose help we may need in managing our kingdom's affairs. If we just flew Ylisse's banner and design on every part of the room… well it'd be quite a bit of blue…"
"Deciding that this is important and that it takes consideration is already a large part of the battle," Emmeryn said to Robin before smirking. "Can you imagine what would have happened if we'd let Ragna plan the event himself? He'd decide on something completely ridiculous like a pink octopus and say damn what anyone else thinks…"
"I… I think that's the first time I've ever heard you swear," Robin noted, slightly surprised with the former Exalt.
"Those were Ragna's theoretical words and not mine," Emmeryn defended herself. "You may have a point though, there was a time not too long ago where even the thought of a swear would have been something a scandal to me… I suppose some of him and my brother has eventually rubbed off on me."
"Ragna I get all too easily, but Chrom doesn't curse much more than the rest of us… Though you've probably remembered his language the best since he is your brother," Robin agreed. "Speaking of which… It looks like the council has decided to leave you alone regard plans to marry you to one of the nobility."
"They have? ...I know there couldn't have been a meeting held, so where does this information come from?"
"Maribelle and Tiki actually," the tactician informed. "They were both present at separate tea gatherings… Apparently the royal houses have less attention vested in you and much more towards Chrom… and a touch towards Lissa."
"Though going after Chrom won't do them any good, will it?" A red blush was her only response to the question. "And going after Lissa… I'd hate to think what Chrom would do to any man that gave Lissa so much as a lecherous gaze."
"He'd likely ask Ragna for help…" Robin muttered, right before she looked at the patterns of cloth and banners that she'd been planning to use earlier. "...I think I may have come up with something."
Later -Back to the Barracks-
"I guess for now, that will have to do," Ragna muttered to himself as he took he sword and twirled it through the air a few times before placing the weapon upon his belt. Looking skyward, he noticed that the moon was starting to come out and glancing around his surroundings he saw no one else in the practice yard with him. 'Tch… Must've been more focused in my training than I thought, and judging by the sky dinner's just about wrapped up. I oughta meet Sully soon as I can, but…'
Getting a whiff of himself, the Reaper scowled. While he knew that training like this was more than likely than not to produce at least a little body odor, what he was smelling was just plain foul. Cleaning himself seemed to be in order… but it was either take a bath or grab some food; he didn't have the time to do both. He managed to take all of five seconds to consider what he should do before his stomach gave a painful growl. Realizing that he hadn't eaten anything since the breakfast Aversa had left for him along with the colossal amount of calories he'd just brunt up, Ragna started to head for the kitchens to make himself a light meal.
"...It's not like she'd care if I showed up sweaty anyways," he muttered to himself, before smirking. "Part of me even thinks that she might like it better that way…"
Growl…
One Happy Customer
The Reaper paused in his walk, only to noticing a familiar green clad knight leaning against the barrack walls in great pain as another watery growl resonated from his person. The Reaper had heard rumors about this; apparently Sully and Robin had discovered some kind of special seaweed that had helped a person lose weight through… a rather pained procedure. This struck the Reaper as more than a little odd, because if there was anyone in the Shepherd's that would want to watch their weight, Stahl certainly wasn't one of them.
"Something you ate?" he decided to finally ask and show a little concern for his friend.
"More like what I didn't eat," Stahl told him with an especially pathetic smile. "I knew I should have gone for those rolls early in, but then Vaike had to go and snatch them before I got so much as one…"
"So you're just hungry then…?" the Reaper muttered to himself. "Wait a minute, how long ago did dinner end anyways?"
"Just a few minutes ago…" Stahl told him. "I… didn't get enough to eat…"
"Even if you'd just eaten a few rolls, usually your hunger pains would have taken some time to set in… must be one hell of a metabolism you've got there," Ragna said to him as Stahl chuckled guiltily. "Well whatever, I was about to make myself some dinner, so why don't you join me?"
"Y-You mean it!?" Stahl asked, the bright twinkles in his eyes oddly endearing to the Reaper. "But then… I'd be eating up some of our supplies, that wouldn't be right…"
"Well in that case…" Ragna began before crossing his arms. "Stahl, I'm ordering you to come join me for a meal until you've eaten your fill. You won't go starving tonight! …You know, in my head that sounded a hell of a lot less cheesy…"
"Honestly to me it just sounded like an Angels Ballad, thanks Ragna!" the knight told him with a brighter smile than Ragna had ever seen on the guy before. "Everyone's always said that you make an amazing cook, so I look forward to trying it out firsthand."
"With your ridiculous hunger I might have an easy fight here," Ragna told him. "I've got the feeling that you'll wolf down just about anything I make you."
"Well… I'm a little pickier than that," Stahl told him before his face turned dark as he thought back on painful memories. "I can't stand any of Sully or Chrom's cooking… A meal or two of that nightmare alone was enough to put me in the medical tent for at least a week."
"It's probably paradise compared to Noel's cooking," Ragna muttered to himself as Stahl gave him a curious look. "...A… friend from back home… her cooking… well let's just say I've only seen one man enjoy that stuff and he was the definition of pure evil…"
"Oh… have you ever had a taste of the stuff?"
"I… I think I can remember going for a bite, down to the second before I took it; but right after that all I can ever draw is a blank." The two were right outside the door that lead to the kitchen. "...Meaning my mind thought the thing was so god awful it was impossible to commit to memory."
"Ooookay then…" Stahl responded nervously as the Reaper opened the door and the two headed inside. "So what were you planning on making?"
"Dunno, think I'll just take a look and see what I've got to work with and make something from what I can find; can't promise it'll be anything fancy, but it'll definitely keep you full."
"Sounds a lot like campground cooking," Stahl told him.
"Hey, you gotta start somewhere when you learn how to cook; that was the first thing my master taught me," Ragna told him before he smirked and started thinking back. "Way back then… I was making our usual stew one night and I… well I sort of thought that I'd have some fun with it. We were camping out in the woods at the time, so I found a couple of Raspberries and…"
"You… you added something that tarty to a stew!?" Stahl asked with surprise, somewhat in awe that Ragna would consider something so obviously illogical.
"Give me a break; I was young, stupid, and bored out of my mind of making stew the same way every damn time. I felt like I wanted a little variety so I went out swinging. My master though…" Bringing the cooking supplies to the table in front of him, the Reaper made a motion with his arm which mimicked a harsh and punishing hit. "He really let me have it; said we don't have enough supplies to go experimenting with harebrained stunts like that. Didn't stop him from eating the food, but he ended up giving me the cold shoulder the whole night and most of the next day."
"I figure… Teachers have to be hard on you like that, don't they?" Stahl guessed.
"Normally I'd agree with you, but kind of a funny thing about that. A few months later I was making the exact same stew, sans any Raspberries of course. And what do you think happens?" Giving a short cough to clear his throat, Ragna tried his best imitation of Jubei. "What, no Raz'berries? 'Told him I didn't add any and he dropped it there, but I could tell something was on his mind that he didn't want to say. The next time I made stew and added Raspberries I didn't hear a damn thing out of him."
"Ha ha, quite a master you have there," Stahl said with a friendly chuckle. "Well I promise not to smack you upside the head, even if you decide to add Raspberries to mix."
"I can work with that," Ragna says in turn as he starts a fire. "You're pretty easy to cook for, so let's see how far I can take this meal…"
Support Rank B Obtained with Stahl
Ragna had ended up going slightly overboard with his experiment adding certain herbs and other ingredients that he was pretty sure he'd been ridiculous to consider now that he looked back on them. Even though he'd tried strange combinations of cooking just for the sake of doing so, Stahl ended up eating every drop of food put in front of him. Ragna had thought the meal had come out… okay; far from his best, but not anywhere near the worst thing he'd ever eaten (even if he couldn't remember Noel's cooking).
He knew that he still didn't smell the best at the moment, but if he was going to talk to Sully before she got pissed, now was going to be the only chance he got to do so. Heading over to the red dressed knight's room, he knocked on the door and awaited the usual barrage of curses.
A Knight's Honor
"I'm coming, I'm coming, hold yer damn horses," came the knight's voice with its familiar attitude and tone. Opening the door, she came face to face with the Grim Reaper. She was wearing her regular armor, which Ragna noticed was starting to get a few new scratches and chips in it. "Finally here, eh?"
"Lost track of training and had to grab dinner," he told her nonchalantly. "What did you want to show me?"
"Something pretty damn important… In fact I wanted to show you yesterday and I couldn't find you any-damn-where I looked and-" she stopped herself, though it was pretty clear that she'd wanted to yell at him about something. "Never mind that, there's giant old oak tree a few miles west of the barracks, you hear about it?"
"Yeah, a few things here and there," the Reaper said as he thought back to it. "What about it?"
"Simple, I want you to meet me there in about half an hour," she told him. As soon as she'd said so, a harsh blush started to alight the Reaper's face. "Wh-what's with that look?" she asked, a small nervous cringe on her own face.
"You… you do realize what kind of place that is… right?" Ragna asked as he scratched the back of his head. That particular tree was somewhat infamous around the capital as a meeting spot for young lovers who'd often find themselves there before moving on to more… secluded parts of the forests for their romantic trysts.
"Damn straight I do!" Sully declared at him. "Start walking over right now! I'll just need a bit of time to get ready first!"
'Get ready?' Ragna thought to himself as he realized what this could have possibly meant for him. "In that case… I think I'll go and take that bath I've been needing."
"No, you need to start heading over now!" Sully told him. "Sides, by the time we're done it won't even had mattered in the first place." Slamming the door in his face, the Reaper could only stand out in the hallways with his eyes the size of dinner plates at what might've just been implied.
"She… she couldn't have meant… that?" he muttered to himself, starting to walk away from Sully's door, albeit in somewhat of a daze. "What am I friggin' saying? This is SULLY we're talking about; she's about the last person I'd expect something like this from…" Swearing at himself in his mind for being such an idiot, he started to make his way through the barracks and headed for the tree as instructed.
Later -The Tree-
Despite having heard a few whispers about the tree here and there, this was Ragna's first time seeing it in person (for obvious reasons). It was a tall, massive oak whose branches were barren, but it didn't make it any less of a sight to behold. Even with its age the limbs looked plenty strong and the oak absolutely towered over the other trees around it. As expected, near the tree there were quite a few couples laying in the grass; many of them star gazing and whispering sweet nothings while others were already starting to cuddle a little too close for public eyes. While a few of the couples were adults and there was even one or two elderly pairs reminiscing on days long since passed, the majority of them were teenagers in the age group that you'd easily call young lovers.
'Must be nice…' Ragna muttered to himself, thinking back to his past life and realizing that he'd never had much of a teen romance, or much of a teen life at all for that matter. True with his moody nature chances were that he wouldn't have acted on such urges or have even gotten them, but his past and the loner lifestyle that had accompanied it certainly hadn't given him the option. Shaking his head, he knew that he was above wanting something that he couldn't have.
Trying to make himself scarce so that the nearby couples wouldn't think that he was just some pervert peeking in on them from afar, Ragna crossed his arms as he leaned against a tree and waited for Sully. It wasn't long later before he heard her approaching… rather it was her horse that he heard approaching.
'She came here on horseback? What kind of a game is she playing?' he thought to himself as he turned to the knight, a little surprised with what he saw.
Instead of her usual red armor, Ragna saw a that Sully was now dress in crimson full plate complete with thick plates to cover her arms and metal plates around her torso to give improved protection. Her horse had also been given a noticeable upgrade to its gear; now with a thick helmet around its head along with steel plating to protect its neck. It also carried thick blue skirt armor around its legs, giving it very regal look. Situated on the horse was a Short Spear, a Steel Sword, and an Iron Axe.
"So… what do you think?" Sully asked him, a cocky smirk on her face.
"I like the upgrades," the Reaper told her honestly as he gave a friendly smile. "This is a good look for you."
"Well of course," she told him as she dismounted from her horse and took a look at her surroundings and the couples laying around the oak. "...Huh, lot of people here."
"Must be a summer thing," Ragna explained as he tried to bring up the elephant in the room. "So… what exactly did you want me here for?"
"I just showed you; it was because I wanted you to be the first person to see me an' my horse in our new armor," Sully told him. "Truth was I wanted you to see it yesterday when I first got it, but…"
"You couldn't find me anywhere, and with how pissed you sounded in that letter you must've been really excited to show it off," Ragna summarized. "But… why the hell did you wait to show me first and in private? I'm sure you could've showed anyone else in the Shepherds; Frederick, Stahl, and Kellam come readily to mind."
"It… It's not like I wanted to keep it a secret, I just sorta felt like I owed it that you saw it first," Sully admitted. Ragna cocked his head, confused by what she meant by it. "By gods yer dense… remember back when we first talked to each other?"
"You mean in the woods near Southtown when you first saw me?" he guessed.
"...Okay, past that. When we were in that fort on the way to Regna Ferox," Sully corrected. "Remember what I told ya? How damn hard I was trying to become a knight and we sparred each other for a few hours at least?"
"Well yeah… Feels like kind of a long time ago, doesn't it?" the Reaper asked as he thought back on it fondly. Seeing Sully was ready to comment, he decided to shoot her down. "I ain't old, damn it…"
"Crap, beat me to it," Sully told him with a challenging look. "Anyways, after all of the shit that went down in Plegia I realized how much you'd helped to get me where I was… since I thought you were gone I figured I owed it to both of us to finish what I'd started. I knuckled down on my training like a mad beast from hell." Possibly thinking it might have just been addressed, her horse gave a neigh as it nuzzled its master (or tried to, still a little unused to the new helmet). "Yeah, yeah, you put the work in too… I was actually officially knighted a few weeks before you came back… Armor just took a while longer to get ready."
"Well I'm honored you think about me like that," Ragna told her with a warm smile. "All the same though… I doubt being knighted is the end of things for you."
"Hell no! I still got a crap ton of improving to do!" Sully swore at him. "I… Aw damn, I'm not good at this sentimentality stuff. I… I just thought I'd share this milestone with ya, in the only way I know how."
"In… the only way?" Ragna asked, thinking something was wrong here, very wrong. That was when Sully took the iron sword from its sheath on her horse and pointed it at the Reaper. "Eh?"
"What's that look for, I gotta spar with you in my new armor don't I?" she asked with a challenging look. "That's why I brought us both out here! Make this a match to remember!"
"Wait, that's why…?" Ragna asked as he looked to the tree and the couples glaring at the two as their 'private time' was being interrupted. "...Sully, you have no damn idea what this place is, do you?"
"A nice and secluded spot for a fight! ...Well when I found it a few days ago it was nice and secluded; no idea what all these damn people are doing here, sure as hell wasn't this busy that morning."
'And that sells it,' Ragna thought to himself as he took a deep breath to set the record straight. "Sully… they're couples."
"Couples?" the knight repeated, apparently not getting it.
"Yeah couples, people that are trying to get away from the city, get some romantic time with each other before getting some… intimate time with each other." Sully seemed to freeze then and there. "This place… it's kind of well known for that, infamous even."
"S-So… when I asked you to meet me here… you thought..." This was the most flustered the knight had ever been, her face now adding even more red in addition to her hair and armor color.
"Heh heh…" Ragna began with a small chuckle as he tried to keep himself from bursting out laughing, a very entertained smile covering much of his face.
"D-Don't you laugh at me bastard! I didn't know jack about this place!" Sully shouted at him, still embarrassed as Ragna continued to chuckle at her expense. Though she gave a groan, the knighted woman's more challenging glare then returned to her face. "Oh now you're asking for it; I am SO going to kick yer ass when we start sparring!"
"That remains to be seen," Ragna told her in kind as he sent back his own challenging gaze. "Care to put your money where that swearing mouth of yours is?"
"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Sully told him as she mounted her horse. Her steed then gave a triumphant neigh before it galloped off, its rider looking for a new spot for the promised challenge to occur. The Reaper just gave a whimsical sigh as he trailed his friend…
Support Rank A Obtained with Sully
Author's Note: MESSAGE FOR MOVING FORWARD
Alright, first off I have not hit burn out, I am not redacting my earlier promise for the most part, and I have a pretty good idea of where this story is going.
Most of you are noticing that this chapter is coming out close to two weeks late, well… The reason for that is that my previous writing of this chapter was a pretty big game changer. I can't go too far into detail without spoiling everything for the readers, but needless to say I realized that what I was doing was too much too soon and at the wrong part. In the end, I had to end up rewriting most of that chapter which sort of screws me up for the chapters I've got coming up. I've still got three chapters left in the set that I plan to deliver on, but from here I'm changing the update schedule to every OTHER Friday because of this. Ergo, next update will be on August 10th, then August 24th, and then the Arc Finale will be on September 7th. This might work well to give me time to flush the entire chapter out in addition to going back and making edits. I may ALSO post a small update for another story along the way, but we'll just have to see there.
Okay, review responses. But before I get to 'em, I just gotta say, along from the enjoyment I get from writing this, the feedback and support I hear from you guys is why I do this, so thanks everyone.
PersonaQ1: Sorry, but I don't think that cat love equals more lives, otherwise crazy cat ladies would be immortal.
Classy JOK3R: Obvious reference is obvious
SuperTBone75: Hope you loved the rest too.
pendragonZx: Thanks, I try
Wlyman2009: Hell, I want that story updated… maybe I can get something done now that I've changed the time frame to two weeks.
EpicLinkSam: RWBY and the others…
Astrefernal: Thanks.
Touhoufanatic: The idea HAS crossed my mind.
Warrior of six Blades: Thanks for the review, but it cut itself off…
Guest (1): I'm still considering it...
The Unplanner: Working on the editing, thanks for the long review.
Kalakauai: Again, I've considered it.
Guest (2): Go look at the early chapters, you'll see who the masked king is soon enough.
Yoko Suzuki: I've consider those two myself… and thanks for the praise.
Kayen1024: She is a popular selection amongst the Readers and I went through a few rewrites on Aversa's part.
Bakuto Masaki: Ah, if only…
Kerrowe: Well if you like it despite not knowing Blazblue, then I'm happy.
Until Next Time Guys! August 10th and that's a promise! Ciao!