Work Text:
Author's Notes: This one's a little longer because there's some setup involved. Hahaha...
Motion III
He leaned against Flynn's desk. He had been waiting there, staring at Flynn as he was going over troop reassignments, for a few moments now. At least he was being patient. Or at least that was what Flynn thought until he felt the drum of Yuri's boot heel against the wooden paneling of his drawers, rattling the contents and causing Flynn's pen to skip across his paperwork.
"Could you please sit down?" He asked through gritted teeth.
"I need a sword."
"What?"
"You're going to teach me how to sword fight. I need a sword for that."
"We'll be starting off with the wooden training swords so that no one gets hurt." Flynn continued under his breath, "Mostly so you don't hurt yourself."
"That's no fun."
"Safety isn't always fun. Once you've had some practice with the wooden swords, we'll move on to the basic long swords. And after you're proficient enough, then we will invest in buying you a sword."
"Well, when are you going to get around to teaching me?" Another knock against the desk threatened the stability of the stack of paperwork in his inbox.
"After I have finished my work. The sooner you sit down and let me do it, the sooner you'll get to learn."
Yuri cast off from the desk, and flopped own on the sofa without another word. In fact, he allowed Flynn to work uninterrupted for another half hour, after which the more pressing documents had been taken care of. The others could wait until a little later, requiring further attention and with the expectation that things would be handled over the course of time. In his normally busy schedule, he made some time to take Yuri down to the training grounds.
It took little time to get Yuri into the correct position, but Flynn found that he took to the stances and the weight and the feel of the practice sword naturally. Within an hour, he was displaying traces of the sort of innate skill that men Flynn had served with for years didn't have. It was something that he hadn't expected, but certainly made his job a lot easier.
"You're doing well." He suppressed voicing his surprise, and slid into stance to show Yuri another move. "This next move requires some practice to get just right, but if you can master it, it will serve you well."
"Ready when you are."
Flynn gave a swift nod and charged. He swung down with the wooden sword and Yuri instinctively blocked him. He grabbed for Yuri's less favored right arm, twisted slightly at his waist and delivered a glancing blow across his arm. It wasn't strong enough to leave anything more than a bruise, but with a bladed weapon, it could prove to incapacitate.
Yuri rubbed the spot with his other hand and seemed to be thinking about what happened as Flynn took a step back.
"Should I show you again?"
"No. I think I got it."
"Show me then."
Yuri lunged, forcing Flynn to block and quickly repeated the move, leaving a large, red welt on Flynn's left shoulder that would surely turn blue-black later. He picked things up with shocking ease. He was already in the more advanced training and with practice, and luck, would be able to pick up arte use in time. Flynn hadn't expected to come out of training with a man who had never held a sword before with quite this many scrapes and bruises, but he was impressed. Yuri certainly had a knack for this.
"That's very impressive, Yuri!" Flynn wasn't the only one. He hadn't noticed Estellise and another familiar figure approach the training field.
"Thanks." He smiled, his interest piqued by the short, brunette girl at Estellise's side. "Hey."
Rita scoffed at him in her typical style. "I didn't know that you took in strays, Flynn."
Yuri chuckled and extended his hand. "Yuri Lowell."
"Rita Mordio."
"Rita's a mage from Aspio. I thought that she might be able to help in the search for how to get you back home."
"Estelle told me a lot about you. I'd like to do an examination of you later, and it'll take a few days before I have any concrete results. It'll have to wait though. I'm due at the production facility in the Lower Quarter in less than an hour."
"We were going to head down that way in a bit also," Flynn said, shouldering his practice sword.
"Why?" Yuri asked.
"If you don't want a real sword of your own, then you can stay here." Besides, Flynn never knew whether or not he'd wake up to find that Yuri had gone off on his own. It was better to get him at least equipped before that happened.
"Hey, earlier you said not until I was 'proficient'."
"May I be the judge of proficiency?" Estellise asked with a smile.
"Who? You?"
"I think you would make a fine sparring partner for Yuri, Lady Estellise." He passed her the wooden sword and practice shield. Yuri wouldn't expect that beneath Estelle's kind and caring nature, she could prove a fierce and skilled opponent. He would get a good lesson about not misjudging opponents and Flynn and Rita would get a good laugh over it.
She took her stance and Flynn and Rita took a few good strides backward while Yuri got into position.
"Don't go easy on me now," Yuri said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
Estellise didn't bother to signal the start of the match after Yuri's little taunt, and lunged forward with speed and precision that had him dodging and blocking and on the defensive. He stumbled to shield himself from a series of thrust attacks. She was faster, and lithe, whipping around to jab him behind the shield before getting out of range of any attack he might be able to pull off.
It took him a moment to adjust to her battling technique, but after watching her, he changed the way he defended, the way he held himself, and worked to turn the tides in his own favor. Strike for strike, they clashed, but she was still better trained and faster. In one swift flick of her sword, she disarmed him, sending the practice sword spiraling in the air.
"Wow, Estelle. Now I'm impressed." He dropped the shield and signaled his surrender.
"Thank you. I trained for many years with the former emperor's sword master. You put up a good fight, though, for someone with very little training." She lowered her sword and shield and looked at Flynn with a smile. "I believe that he is skilled enough to warrant his own sword. Don't you?"
"Yes. Something basic should suit him for the time being. Yuri and I will go get cleaned up. What say we meet you two down in Lower Quarter by the fountain in an hour. Will that give you plenty of time to overlook the factory productions, Rita?"
"That's fine. Don't take too long though. Estelle and I won't wait all day." Rita was sharp and to the point. While others found her lack of tact somewhat distasteful, Flynn liked the fact that she was plain and concise, even if it made her seem constantly angry. And in spite of whatever she might have said, she did care about people.
The two girls ventured off without them, leaving him to drag Yuri upstairs for a quick wash and a change of clothes.
Flynn remained out of uniform for his trip to the Public Quarter. Even without it, the knights stationed about the city still saluted him and treated him as they would the Commandant on any other day. The people of the Public Quarter did no different, save the fact that every now and then his name came out rather than his title. He didn't mind at all though.
There was a renowned blacksmith's shop down an alleyway and toward the city's exit. Flynn knew the man who ran the shop and knew that he would be able to get an inexpensive sword for Yuri to carry, as this man and his shop produced en mass the weapons that the vast majority of the Imperial Knights used. Even Flynn's own sword had been crafted in this very workshop.
He took to chatting with the blacksmith while Yuri was weighing and testing the feel of some of the swords. He seemed to be having some difficulty finding one he liked and they were due to meet the girls shortly.
"We don't have all day."
"Who's your friend here, Flynn?" the blacksmith asked, leaning up against the counter that separated the main of the shop from the sweltering hot work area in the back, where the fire of the forge was still burning.
"This is Yuri. I've been teaching him the basics of sword fighting. We're just looking for a sword to start him out with."
"Is that so? Well, I have a few in back he can try out." He pulled away from the counter, and brought a barrel through the door beside it. More than a dozen sword hilts jutted out of the wide opening of the barrier, clanking together. They were older, probably repaired or pawned, but Yuri had to start somewhere.
Yuri pulled one out, letting it sit in his hand to get a feel for it, before returning it and pulling another one.
"Just pick one. We're supposed to meet Rita and Estellise soon."
"Don't rush me."
Flynn sighed and sunk back against the counter and the blacksmith chuckled.
The bell on the door rang out clearly as it opened, and the two of them turned their attention to the person entering.
Just a glance at that person and Flynn's blood boiled, rising white-hot in his chest. The source of his sudden anger was a caricature of the quintessential aristocratic brat, full grown into a man's body. There was certainly no mistaking Alexander Cumore. It had been months since the last time he had seen the former captain, which was much too soon for Flynn to have ever forgotten the things that had gotten him locked up in the first place. The idea that he was free to roam the streets with his title still intact left a sharp, disgusting, metallic taste in Flynn's throat that made him feel physically ill.
"Lord Cumore--!" The blacksmith straightened up instantly, wiping the sweat from his brow as the nobleman approached, not even casting an eye at Flynn.
"I trust the piece that I have commissioned has been completed." It wasn't a question. He was stating the truth as he wanted it to be.
"Of course, Your Lordship. I'll go retrieve it."
As soon as the blacksmith was out of sight, Cumore's eyes drifted over to Flynn, still leaning against the counter, although his hands gripped its wooden surface with a rage that threatened to snap it.
"Oh, if it isn't our dear esteemed Commandant. What brings you here? Looking to crawl back under the filthy rock you came from?"
He held his breath and his tongue. He had to keep reminding himself that there was nothing he could do at this moment, and that in time, even Cumore would trip over the terrible things that he had done and his facade would come crashing down. Then the Council would have to do something to put a stop to him.
"Whoa, who's this asshole, Flynn?" Yuri asked, propping himself up against the wall to get a good look at Cumore. Once he had gotten an eyeful, he covered his mouth, barely holding back a chuckle. If he only knew what Cumore, in spite of his foppish appearance, was capable of, he might not have been laughing.
Cumore's gaze shot over to Yuri, and a long, thin smirk stretched across his lips. "More rabble, I see. What more can I expect from someone who only made it to his current rank on the favoritism of a princess?"
Yuri opened his mouth, but the blacksmith returned before he could get what was likely a long string of profanities out.
"Here you are, Your Lordship." He set a rapier on the counter, with a gilded basket hilt that was completely encrusted with purple and rose gems. The long, thin blade was etched with Cumore's name, cast in such a way that the name could be read from either facing up or down and washed in gold. The scabbard that sat beside it was covered in gold scrollwork, dotted with more gems. The whole thing was disgustingly flashy, but that was Cumore's style. The more flamboyant, the better.
Wordlessly, Cumore lifted the blade, examining it with a trained eye. He turned, letting it flick out before him as he watched the snap of the metal of the blade. Aside from the over decoration, it seemed to be a finely made sword. He slid it into its scabbard and fastened that to his belt.
"I've cut my meat with better blades than this. But I will do you the favor of saving your reputation by taking it anyway. In the meantime, you should get it right this next time, or else you won't see a single gald."
"But, Your Lordship, that is my finest work. It is exactly what you specified, down to the smallest detail. I pooled all of my resources and spared no expense to make you that sword for our agreed upon price," the blacksmith tried to argue, but Flynn knew that Cumore wouldn't stand for any of the common folk not obeying his every whim.
"I never agreed to pay for garbage."
Flynn's hand moved instinctively to his sword as Cumore took a step toward the door. "Lord Cumore, it is against the law to take possession of goods without adequate reimbursement. Either you are going to pay for the sword, or you will leave it."
"Are you calling me a criminal?" Flynn wanted to. It was there on the tip of his tongue.
"You heard me."
"You upstart Scifos. At least your father had the decency to get himself killed before I could have him thrown out of the knights," Cumore sneered at him, nose crinkled as if he had smelled something unpleasant.
His face flushed with anger, the heat of blood pooled in his cheeks and behind his eyes. He was baiting Flynn, but it wasn't Flynn who retaliated.
Grabbing Cumore by the length of his periwinkle hair, Yuri yanked him backward. Involuntarily, the nobleman brought his hands up to shield his face from the pummeling that Yuri started to give him next.
"M-Madman! Get him away from me!" Cumore shrieked, weakly defending himself.
"Yuri!" Flynn charged forward to try and stop him, and grabbed Yuri's wrist.
Yuri wrenched away from him, and Cumore got away from Yuri while he was distracted. He wasn't about to let Cumore loose for long, grabbing him again and punching him in the face hard enough to send him barreling into one of the shop's support beams. The pots and pans and shields that hung there came raining down on the fallen nobleman, adding insult to injury. It appeared as though Yuri wasn't done yet. He advanced again, but Flynn grabbed him a second time.
"Let go of me!"
"No!"
"This asshole deserves it!"
"That's not for you to judge!"
He spun and took a swing at Flynn, and Flynn returned the blow. While Yuri was still reeling, Flynn knocked his feet out from underneath him and pinned him against the concrete floor.
"You don't know anything!" All of the anger Flynn held against Cumore, burning hot in him since that day in Mantaic when Flynn had first had him arrested came right back to the surface and he ignited it against Yuri, who struggled under his grasp. As much as Yuri tried to make him budge, to get an inch out of him, Flynn only slammed him against the floor harder, knocking the wind out of him. His arms burned with rage, like fire beneath his skin, like venom he wanted to take out on Cumore and all the other villains of the world, but couldn't alone. He wanted them to be punished by the law, in a way that befit their actions. "Justice is not for you to deliver! Stupid, meaningless vigilante bullshit like this isn't justice!"
But the Law had failed him before when it came to Alexander Cumore, and there was no promise that the Law would punish him any more harshly now. This crime was far less terrible, and the punishment, even for a noble, would be less so. Even if the Law failed him, Flynn couldn't give up. Flynn needed to change the system. That was why he had become a knight. That was why his father had become a knight. He'd be damned if he was about to give it up because some stranger thought that he understood what was going on here when he had no business in this at all.
The knights burst in a second later, and Flynn was pulling himself and the still breathless Yuri up off the floor and shoving him in their direction.
"Arrest him."
"Hey, wait I just--!"
"It doesn't matter. You broke the law, and those who break the law will be punished." Flynn took a breath to try and calm down as he turned to Cumore, who was finally rousing from amid the fallen kitchenware. "As for you, Lord Cumore. I have presented you with your choices. You will either leave the blade, pay for it, or you will be arrested as well."
"Tch." Cumore pulled the sword free of is belt and threw it onto the counter. "Don't think this is over, Flynn Scifo." He strode past the knights, who were struggling to shackle Yuri and disappeared into the streets of Zaphias. But that did little to cool Flynn's temper.
"Flynn!" Yuri was just as mad still and Flynn didn't feel like dealing with someone who didn't know anything.
"Throw him in the dungeon. Overnight should be long enough for him to cool off."
Kicking and shouting, Yuri was drug away and Flynn felt that anger well even harder, searing like saltwater in his eyes. The blacksmith was quiet and seemed unsure of what to say, choosing to take the rapier back into his workshop. Flynn stooped and gathered up the mess that Yuri had made, and left a handful of gald on the counter for any repairs before he left and wandered down to meet Estellise and Rita.
They were waiting for him by the Lower Quarter's fountain, Rita tapping her foot impatiently.
"Flynn, where's Yuri? Wasn't he with you?"
Yuri was not the person he wanted to be hearing about right now, or even thinking about and it took all of his control to keep from shouting. "He's in the dungeon. I'm sorry. You'll have to perform your examination tomorrow when he's released."
"W-Why?" Estellise asked, trying not to let the shock take over. "What happened?"
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to ask him about it. If you'll excuse me, I should be getting back to the palace."
Without another word, he walked numbly back to the palace and threw himself into his work to keep the rage from consuming him.
A night of restlessness and another day did little to calm Flynn's anger. He kept it inside. He was still courteous and seemed in fine spirits to almost everyone he came across, but deep down, he wanted so badly to lecture Yuri the moment he came out of the dungeon. But there was something else eating away at his insides, crawling within his skin in such a way that it made the anger seem cold in comparison.
Flynn wasn't sure what had made Yuri react the way he had. He had proven that he cared about people and that he wanted what may have been akin to justice in his own mind. That wasn't how the world worked. You couldn't just beat the snot out of the villainous and call it justice, because it wasn't. The world couldn't be fixed by brute force and howling about it. Laws existed for a reason. Sometimes those laws made Flynn's job harder.
Whatever made Yuri stay before didn't matter now. As hotheaded as he was, he was probably down in the Lower Quarter by now, on his way out of the city with some distant place in his sights. If he was going to leave, that was fine. Flynn had already resolved that he wasn't going to stop him this time.
He had plans outside the city as well, but he would use another exit and avoid any chance of contact with Yuri, or anyone who might bother to ask after him for whatever reason. Nothing cleared his head quite like a good ride, and with everything going on, he certainly needed it right now. He had sent word to have his horse saddled and ready to ride. The cool night air in his face as his horse dashed across the meadows surrounding the city would give him a little clarity. Repede would be in the stables as well, and Flynn would have the task of having to explain that the dog's friend was leaving for other prospects.
The stables had a comforting smell and warmth, like his old home in the Lower Quarter. Straw and leather and the soft sounds of the animal residents were soothing as well.
Repede's stall was the last one beside the one that housed Flynn's horse. The wooden door was always left open so that the dog could come and go as he pleased, but today the partition was only cracked open.
Flynn stopped for a second, finding that his horse was indeed ready for a ride. It whinnied softly as him as he passed his hand down the length of its feathered face before moving on to Repede's stall.
The dog looked up at him, craning his neck around the sleeping form beside him. Yuri was crushed up against him, his dark hair full of hay. Flynn could hear Yuri's stomach rumble, and a soft groan escape his pale lips as he shifted to wrap his arms around Repede. The dog licked Yuri's forehead and laid his head down on top of Yuri's, still looking up at Flynn. And that was when it struck him.
Yes. Yuri was impetuous, and reckless, and maybe even hotheaded. He had somehow stumbled into this world and had so much of it thrust upon him. And although he had broken the law, he had defending the blacksmith. Hell, he may have even been defending Flynn, whom he barely knew. He couldn't have wanted things to turn out this way. No one would ask for such a thing. He seemed to cope all right, but it was easy now, seeing him like this, with only a dog to turn to when things when bad, to assume that he was not all right. He couldn't even talk with Flynn or Estellise about it, but that didn't seem so surprising now with the way the Flynn had handled the situation.
Yuri Lowell was afraid and alone.